Browse / United States / Massachusetts / Lenox
Lenox
MassachusettsCDP
Lenox
Total population
5,095
Founded
1750
Demographic figures from US Census Bureau · ACS 5-year estimates. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lenox includes the villages of New Lenox and Lenox Dale and the census-designated place of Lenox, and is a tourist destination during the summer.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
The area was inhabited by Mahicans, Algonquian speakers who largely lived along the Hudson and Housatonic Rivers. Hostilities during the French and Indian Wars discouraged settlement by European colonial settlers until 1750, when Jonathan and Sarah Hinsdale from Hartford, Connecticut, established a small inn and general store. The Province of Massachusetts Bay thereupon auctioned large tracts of land for 10 townships in Berkshire County, set off in 1761 from Hampshire County. For 2,250 pounds Josiah Dean purchased Lot Number 8, which included present-day Lenox and Richmond. After conflicting land claims were resolved, however, it went to Samuel Brown Jr., who had bought the land from the Mahican chief, on condition that he pay 650 pounds extra. It was founded as Richmond in 1765. But because the Berkshires divided the town in two, the village of Yokuntown (named for an indigenous chief) was set off as Lenox in 1767. The town was intended to be called Lennox, probably after Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox (Scottish Gaelic Leamhnachd), but the name was misspelled by a clerk at incorporation. Early industries included farming, sawmills, textile mills, potash production, glassworks, and quarrying. A vein of iron ore led to the digging of mines under the town, and the establishment by Job Gilbert in the 1780s of an iron works at Lenox Dale, also known as Lenox Furnace. In 1784, Lenox became the county seat, which it remained until 1868 when the title passed to Pittsfield. The county courthouse built in 1816 is today the Lenox Library. The region's rustic beauty helped Lenox develop into an art colony. In 1821, author Catharine Sedgwick moved here, followed by actress Fanny Kemble. Nathaniel Hawthorne and his family came from Salem in 1850, staying a year…
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Lenox is bordered by Pittsfield to the north, Washington to the east, Lee to the southeast, Stockbridge to the southwest, and Richmond to the west. The town center is south of downtown Pittsfield, west-northwest of Springfield, and west of Boston. Lenox is set apart from Richmond to the west by a branch of the Berkshire Mountains, with the highest peak in the ridge being Yokun Seat at . To the east, October Mountain rises above the Housatonic River, which flows along that side of town and is impeded by a dam that forms Woods Pond. Contamination with PCBs is highest in the section of the River from Pittsfield to Woods Pond. Parts of the Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area and October Mountain State Forest line the river's east banks there. Several marshy brooks also feed into the river throughout town. The town is also home to the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary south of Yokun Seat, the Wyndhyrst Resort and Golf Club, and a Miraval Spa. Routes 7 and 20 meet in the southern end of town, heading north along a bypass road towards Pittsfield. Massachusetts Route 7A, the original path of Route 7, passes through the center of town, with a short distance combined with Massachusetts Route 183, which begins near the start of the bypass road. The town center is from Exit 2 of the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), the nearest interstate highway. Along the Housatonic River, the Housatonic Railroad route between Pittsfield and Great Barrington passes from north to south. Penn Central trains last made stops at Lenox Railroad Station in 1970. Amtrak rail service on the Lake Shore Limited can be found in Pittsfield, and the town is served by the…
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Demographics & economy
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Current forecast
Forecast for Lenox, MA from NOAA NWS API.
Air quality
Industrial & pollution facilities
Natural hazard risk
Health (adults)
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Schools
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.
Nearby places in Massachusetts
- Lee4.2 mi away · pop. 5,788
- Pittsfield6.4 mi away · pop. 43,927
- Cheshire15.2 mi away
- North Adams23.4 mi away · pop. 12,961
- Russell24.3 mi away · pop. 1,643
- Northampton31.4 mi away · pop. 29,571
- Easthampton Town32.2 mi away
- Deerfield37.2 mi away
- Agawam Town38.4 mi away
- Chicopee38.8 mi away · pop. 55,560
- Amherst Town39.8 mi away
- Ware53.7 mi away · pop. 10,066
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Lenox
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Nearest stream gauge
Live readings from USGS NWIS · measured 2026-05-31 23:30 UTC.
Events
Gallery
Geotagged photos within ~6 miles of Lenox, from Wikimedia Commons contributors.
0.3 mi
0.3 mi
0.5 mi
0.6 mi
0.8 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.4 mi
1.5 mi
1.5 mi
1.5 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 mi
1.6 miPhotos via Wikimedia Commons — see each image page for license & attribution.
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • NOAA National Weather Service
- • Wikimedia Commons
- • Wikidata
- • USGS NWIS (water data)
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library
- • Wikidata SPARQL (CC0) — population, area, elevation, inception, head of government, Commons image