Overview of The Mount
A cultural gateway to Lenox, The Mount— Edith Wharton’s home—also offers opportunities for birding, hiking, fishing, and learning. The property has been systematically restored, including returning the gardens and landscaping to early plans and layouts. From the historically curated gardens through the forest trails to Laurel Lake, you will find yourself amid huge wolf pines, wetlands, and whispers of the Gilded Age. The Mount and Laurel Lake are contiguous, making birding this area easy and typically accomplishable in a few hours or less by foot, and even fewer by car. The Mount is a great place to explore for birds and, equally exciting, to hear the history of Edith Wharton, her illustrious career, and landmark estate. The grounds, trails, and gardens are open to the public from sunrise to sunset and are free year-round. The Main House and Bookstore are open from 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Edith Wharton designed and built The Mount in 1902. Wharton, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was an internationally known author of more than 40 books, including fiction, design, and architecture. The house and its gardens reflect her creativity, skill, and balance of the natural and cultivated world.
Wharton lived at the estate for only ten years and returned to Paris, noted as her favorite city, when she and her husband Teddy divorced. A variety of tenants followed, including an all-girls school and the Berkshire Theatre Group. Designated a National Historical Landmark in 1971, the house and a portion of the original estate are managed by an organization also named The Mount . The organization is a cultural center that preserves the house, grounds, immaculate gardens, and the historic legacy of Edith Wharton. Fifty acres of the historical boundaries plus 70 acres of a neighboring property are under a conservation easement that is co-held by The Mount and Mass Audubon—known as the Meadow Wood Conservation Restriction—ensuring this landmark and the landscape endure into the future.
Map of The Mount and Laurel Lake.
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