From Gilded Age mansion to ghostly haven: The Story of Ventfort Hall
Ventfort Hall sits tucked away on just over 11 acres in the heart of Lenox, Massachusetts, shrouded by trees. The opulent Jacobean-style mansion and property has a rich history that dates back more than 150 years. When a place bears witness to such an illustrious past, it does not merely linger as bricks and mortar; it becomes a vessel for history's echoes to find refuge. You see, on occasion, over the course of time, a house can begin to hold onto things. Powerful emotions such as love or grief can tether spirits to a place holding them in its embrace. It is said that Ventfort Hall is one such a place — a place where the footsteps of those who once called it home may still tread, unseen but not unfelt, woven into the very tapestry of its very existence.
Elegance amidst nature: The “Berkshire cottages”
Ventfort Hall is one of what is known as the “Berkshire cottages.” While most uses of the word cottage would imply a small, modest home, in this context, it refers to large and lavish summer homes. The Gilded Age saw unprecedented economic growth for many people, primarily in the Northern and Western states. This increase in prosperity resulted in some of the wealthiest families in the nation building these extravagant havens in the Berkshires for the scenic countryside vistas of the mountains and lakes. Approximately 76 of these estates were built, although many have been lost to time — less than half of them still stand today, and even fewer are publicly accessible.
Before Ventfort Hall
In the annals of history, before the creation of Ventfort Hall, another house, simply called Vent Fort, held dominion over the very same grounds. It was owned by wealthy New York businessman Ogden Haggerty and his wife, Elizabeth. The couple had two daughters named Annie and Clemence.
On May 2, 1863, their daughter Annie Kneeland Haggerty married Robert Gould Shaw, who came from a wealthy abolitionist family in Boston. The couple had met at a pre-opera soirée in New York City hosted by Shaw’s sister Susanna. Both sets of their parents were unenthusiastic about their marriage, but they wed anyway and spent their one-week honeymoon at Vent Fort.
However, their marriage was ephemeral. Just 77 days after they wed, Shaw fell victim to the merciless jaws of the Civil War, leading the Massachusetts 54th, the second Black regiment in the U.S. and first in Massachusetts, into battle at Fort Wagner in South Carolina. The couple had only 26 days together. Although there were many casualties and the battle was a Confederate victory, the soldiers' valor became the stuff of legend. The battle also had a long-term strategic benefit for the Union by encouraging greater enlistment of Black soldiers, giving the Union power in numbers that the Confederacy could not duplicate.
Following the battle, Robert Gould Shaw was buried in a mass grave in South Carolina with the other soldiers of the 54th Regiment. However, after the war, the Union Army disinterred and reburied all the remains, presumably including Shaw, at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina, where the gravestones are all marked as “unknown.” This poignant tale was dramatized in the 1989 Academy-Award-Winning film “Glory.”
For the most part, Annie’s story has been lost throughout the years. We do know that she was never remarried and moved to Europe, returning to visit the U.S. sparingly. She eventually returned to Lenox and spent the last year of her life in her old family home before passing away in 1907. She is buried in the Church on the Hill Cemetery a few minutes away, next to her mother, sister, and brother-in-law.
Vent Fort was sold to Sarah Morgan (sister of J.P. Morgan) and her husband George (her 7th cousin) in 1891, forsaking the Haggerty legacy to embrace a new reign. They moved the original house across the street and renamed it Bel Air. It sat there with its last use being as Berkshire Country Day School until it was claimed by a fire in 1965.
Portrait of George Morgan hanging in the dining room at Ventfort Hall.
The Morgans and Ventfort Hall
The Morgans hired prominent Boston architects Rotch & Tilden to design their estate. The mansion was constructed of brick with brownstone trim and an elegant porte cochère (an entrance large enough for a vehicle to pass through) to welcome visitors. In the rear, they created an impressive wood veranda with a backdrop of the majestic Berkshire hills.
At the time of its completion in 1893, Ventfort Hall was described as “one of the most beautiful places in Lenox.” The house was a colossus boasting over 28,000 square feet where secrets lay entwined within 28 rooms, including 15 bedrooms for dreams to take hold. It also contained an elegant salon, a stately library, and a grand staircase. And lest we forget the whimsy of a bowling alley, where a forgotten symphony of clattering pins that once resonated through the opulence.
The house was also designed with all the latest modern amenities at the time, such as ventilated bathrooms, the amalgamation of gas and electric fixtures, the warmth of central heating, a burglar alarm, and an elevator to ferry mortal souls between floors. Additionally, the property had several outbuildings, inclusive of six greenhouses, gatehouses, and a carriage house.
During the Gilded Age, the Great Hall was used as a ballroom when Sarah would host her extravagant parties. An orchestra would often play in the musicians' gallery above the entryway; the curved windows and woodwork helped the music resonate throughout the entire hall, intoxicating all those who entered its embrace.
After the death of Sarah Morgan in 1896 and her husband George in 1911, their children auctioned off the furnishings of Ventfort Hall, which means that, unfortunately, almost no original furnishings remain, and they put the house on the market.
The Festival House era
After the death of her husband in the sinking of the Lusitania, Margaret Vanderbilt (who later went by Margaret Emerson) was seeking solace and was drawn to the harbored embrace of Lenox, where she rented Ventfort Hall from 1916 to 1917. The house was eventually purchased by the Bonsal family in 1925. Twenty years later, their heirs sold it, and it was reborn as a dormitory for the music students at a local music venue called Tanglewood.
Then, in 1950, Bruno and Claire Aron purchased Tracy Hall (what Ventfort Hall was called then). At the time, it had sat vacant for 20 years and was in foreclosure. They had the vision to open a hotel for culture-oriented travelers of all races and religions — something the community desperately needed. Being a first-generation American of Eastern European Jewish heritage, Bruno had previously worked for the Pittsfield Jewish Community Center. During his time there, he was often contacted by Jewish people looking to visit Tanglewood and were not able to find lodgers to rent them a room, so he was quite aware of the discriminatory practices that were occurring and wanted to create a place that would welcome all visitors.
The couple replaced the furnace, furnished the house, and opened it as Festival House in the summer of 1950. It was more than mere lodging; it was an oasis of diversity. After opening, they made further enhancements to their creation, including expanding the first-floor kitchen.
In order to fully realize their vision, the Arons created an art program where hotel guests and other visitors could study a variety of artists and attend instructional programs, including painting, drawing, woodworking, sculpture, pottery, and more. Upon the success of this program, Festival Hosue expanded its cultural offerings by launching a series of plays that were declared by the local newspaper to be the most meaningful and outstanding in the Berkshires.
However, things at Festival House were not all smooth sailing. In fact, their permit to perform the plays was not renewed due to complaints that they produced too much late-night noise and performers were seen around town dressed “inappropriately.” Additionally, according to the Lenox Historical Society, they were denied a liquor license in the late 50s because “Blacks and other questionable characters stayed there.” But they pressed on and due to an overwhelming number of guests, the Arons purchased another property across the street and called it Sunnybank.
After 11 years, the Arons felt their goals were achieved with Festival House and eventually the couple sold the property that was Ventfort Hall. They continued to operate the Sunnybank property as a guest house for several years.
Post Festival House
Following the sale by the Arons, what would eventually return to being Ventfort Hall became a dormitory and dining hall for the Fokine Ballet Camp. By 1977, it had changed hands again and was again being used as a dormitory, this time for a controversial religious community. When they went bankrupt in the late 80s after a lawsuit, the house was left empty for around five years.
Ventfort Hall stood vacant, emptiness echoing through its corridors, until 1991 when a developer purchased it for $500,000. He planned to demolish the historic structure and build a nursing home in its place, something that did not go over well with the citizens of Lenox. They rallied together, united by a shared reverence for the history of the mansion, and successfully got it listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 as one of the most endangered properties in the state of Massachusetts. A year later, the Ventfort Hall Association was formed. The group purchased the property in 1997 for $500,000 through a combination of private donations and a loan from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Unfortunately, by the time the Ventfort Hall Association took possession of the property, it desperately needed rejuvenation due to damage done by the developer and the elements when it was abandoned. Almost all of this woodwork was stripped from the walls. Additionally, the two lions atop the carved limestone fireplace in the Great Hall had to be replaced after being removed. There is a gap where the fireplace does not meet the wall where the developer in 1991 tried to pry the fireplace from the wall on the left side; since it weighs about 6 tons, the fireplace didn’t make it very far.
Modern-day Ventfort Hall
Today, Ventfort Hall operates as a museum — a living testament to the majesty of the Gilded Age. The first floor is open to the public, as are many of the rooms on the second floor. The museum offers historical tours, lectures, theatrical performances, ghost tours, and more. To date, more than $6 million has been spent restoring Ventfort Hall to its previous grandeur Although, it's still a work in progress to achieve the vision of full restoration.
The ghosts of Ventfort Hall
Once the renovation process began at Ventfort Hall, whispers of paranormal activity behind its walls began to emerge — something that is common during times of construction. In the paranormal field, it is thought that renovations can stir up entities in a location. Although no one is quite sure why this is, people have theorized spirits may be confused by the changing environment.
There are accounts of doors yielding to invisible forces, their creaking hinges a testament to an unseen will. Others tell stories of disembodied voices and footsteps, mere echoes from the past, murmuring in shadowed corners. Then there are the tales of apparitions that defy understanding drifting eerily through the corridors or peering out windows. Guests have also reported catching the phantom aroma of perfume lingering like a haunting memory and the brush of unseen hands, gentle but disquieting in their inscrutable touch.
In the shadowed realms of Ventfort Hall, a veil of uncertainty cloaks the origins of the paranormal occurrences that ensnare its visitors. Whispers weave tales of possible culprits, each narrative more mysterious than the last. Could it be the Morgans eternally bound to their beloved country retreat? Perhaps it’s the spirit of Robert Gould Shaw, at long last, back in the arms of his beloved wife. Annie Haggarty herself, too, emerges as a spectral contender. Or, perchance, it is the hand of another, a shadowy figure concealed in the shroud of history whose influence leaves an indelible mark on the mansion’s haunted narrative.
When you visit Ventfort Hall, you are not just visiting a museum, you are peering into the enigmatic depths of the past, where transience and eternity intertwine. For within its storied walls, an array of mystifying offerings await those who dare to seek its secrets.
