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The Rookwood's History:
Our inn boasts a long history of hospitality, beginning as the Williams Tavern built in 1825. What now forms the central part of the building once stood in the center of Lenox at the intersection of Main and Cliffwood Streets. Lenox was the seat of Berkshire County before Pittsfield assumed that distinction and the Tavern was one of many local "watering holes" for the judges and lawyers who rode the circuit and worked in the two courthouses.
Around 1880, the building was purchased by Frederick Constance Peters from Kent, England. Apart from building several structures in Lenox (most notably the original Talbot's retail clothing store, modeled after his ancestral home), Mr. Peters was a real estate speculator and entrepreneur. After having the Tavern moved to its current location in 1880, he added the Victorian front of the building in the late 1880s. It was his intent to provide lodging for the secretaries of the wealthy owners of the Berkshire Cottages such as Elm Court, Belvoir Terrace, Ventfort Hall, Belfontaine and Blantyre.
The original stone wall surrounding the present-day garage, defines the boundaries of a stable that Mr. Peters built to house horses for hire. The original hitching post can be found behind the Inn. From the early 1930s, which saw the departure of the wealthy cottagers and the Gilded Age from Lenox, Mr. Peters' children and grandchildren summered at the building, until World War II made travel from their home in Pennsylvania to Massachusetts prohibitive. After the war, the home was sold and began its life as a bed and breakfast.
Between 1946 and October 1996, the inn underwent changes in ownership, and even changed its name from Quincy Lodge (named for Mrs. Deborah Quincy, an influential resident of Lenox in the 1800s) to The Rookwood Inn. In October, 1996, Steve and Amy, along with their daughters, Nina and Maya, took over as owners and Innkeepers, fulfilling a long-time dream.
We see ourselves as caretakers, stewards of this treasure of architectural history known as The Rookwood Inn.
