The History of Ventfort Hall

Ventfort Hall was built in 1893 for Sarah Spencer Morgan, who was the sister of JP Morgan of New York. Her husband was George Hale Morgan, who was also her 7th cousin. They had three children; their older son Junius, younger son George, and their daughter and youngest child, Caroline. 

Construction of Ventfort Hall began in 1891 and was completed in 1893. When it was finished, it was 28,000 square feet (with a total of 54 rooms,15 of which being master bedrooms). The house included 17 fireplaces, central heating, both gas and electric lighting fixtures, an elevator, and a burglar alarm system -- it was quite modern for its time. 

Sarah passed away in 1896, and her husband George Hale Morgan passed away in 1911 -- after that, furnishings of Ventfort Hall were auctioned off by the children and the house was put on the market. Unfortunately, almost no original furnishings remain today. 

The house was rented for many years and eventually purchased in 1925 by the Bonsal family. 

The Bonsal heirs sold Ventfort Hall in 1945. For a few years the house was used by Tanglewood as a dormitory for their music students. 

In 1950, Bruno and Claire Aron from Pittsfield bought Ventfort Hall and operated it as a bed and breakfast called Festival House for 11 years. 

In 1963, they sold the main mansion, which then became a dormitory and dining hall for a girls summer camp known as the Fokine Ballet Camp. 

By 1977 a religious group bought the property for $100,000, and also used it as a dormitory. However, they went bankrupt in 1987 and after that the house was left alone for about 5 years. 

The mansion stood empty until 1991 when a developer purchased it for $400,000 with the intention of demolishing the historic structure and building a nursing home in its place. Local Lenox citizens rallied together and managed to get the house listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 as one of the most endangered properties in Massachusetts. 

The Ventfort Hall Association formed in 1994, and in 1997 the association purchased the property for $500,000 through a combination of private donations and a generous loan from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To date, more than $6 million has been spent on restoration. Complete restoration will cost at least another $8 million. What you see today is partially completed and partially a work in progress of our restoration efforts.