As he rode through mid-19th-century Lenox; Massachusetts; Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote; �Perfect almost to a miracle.� Founded in 1767; Lenox had sent Gen. John Paterson riding to the Revolutionary War 75 years earlier. Named the Shire Town because of its central Berkshires location; Lenox was home to the county courts. In the east; the center of a bustling glassworks and ironworks industry was situated by the Housatonic River. In the west; rolling hills and sparkling waters drew the literary lights to the New England Lake District. When the county seat moved to Pittsfield; fears of a local economic decline were unfounded with the arrival of the Gilded Age millionaires; who built stately seasonal estates with the charmingly ironic nickname of cottage. The exodus of the millionaires saw Lenox reinvent itself as a cultural and educational center; with private schools and performing arts organizations; Tanglewood chief among them; located on former estates. Change may come to Lenox again; but one constant remains throughout these past 250 years: its scenic beauty.
2016-12-06 2016-12-06File Name: B01N9CS9G6
Review
