Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

lawyer

Joseph Hodges Choate Joseph Hodges Choate (January 24, 1832 – May 14, 1917) was an American lawyer and diplomat. He was chairman of the American delegation at the Second Hague Conference, and ambassador to the United Kingdom. Choate was associated with many of t ...

and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, located at 5 Prospect Hill Road,

Stockbridge, Massachusetts Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridg ...

. The estate's centerpiece is a 44-room, Shingle Style country house designed principally by

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...

, and constructed in 1885 and 1886. The estate is noted for its large gardens, which were designed in the mid-20th century by noted landscape designer

Fletcher Steele John Fletcher Steele (June 7, 1885 – July 16, 1971) was an American landscape architect credited with designing and creating over 700 gardens from 1915 to the time of his death. Early life Steele was born in Rochester, New York, United Stat ...

in conjunction with Mabel Choate. A

National Historic Landmark District A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...

, Naumkeag is now owned by

The Trustees of Reservations ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, who operate it as a nonprofit museum.

Description

Naumkeag was designed by architect

in 1885 as the summer estate for

(1832–1917), a prominent

attorney and American ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1899 to 1905, and his wife Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, an artist and advocate for women's education. Naumkeag was later the residence of his daughter Mabel. The house is built in the Shingle Style with a wood-shingled exterior featuring brick and stone towers, prominent gables and large porch, and interiors with fine woodwork. It contains the Choate family's furniture, Chinese

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

, and artwork collected from

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, and the

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. The house sits within of terraced gardens (including The Rose Garden, The Afternoon Garden, and The Chinese Garden) and landscaped grounds surrounded by of woodland, meadow, and pasture. Its grounds were first designed in the late 1880s by Nathan Franklin Barrett, then replanned and expanded between 1926 and 1956 by the noted landscape designer

. Barrett's original designs included two terraces, perennial beds (now the Chinese Garden), and an evergreen topiary. Steele's additions include the Afternoon Garden (1926); arguably his most famous design, the Blue Steps (1938); and the Chinese Garden (1936–1955).

History

Colonial settlement of the Prospect Hill section of Stockbridge began with the town's founding as a Native American mission community in the 1730s. The future site of Naumkeag was probably acquired by New York lawyer David Dudley Field in the 1870s, and purchased by Joseph Hodges Choate in 1884. Choate's family had vacationed in Stockbridge (where Choate's law partners also summered), and had picnicked on the property. Choate persuaded Field (whom he had opposed in the

Boss Tweed William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19t ...

legal cases) to part with on the south side of the hill. Choate was a longtime friend of architect Charles McKim, but most of the architectural design work was done by McKim's partner

. Although design work began shortly after the purchase, construction was delayed by the death of Choate's son. The house was completed in 1886 at a cost of about $35,000. White was also instrumental in providing the decorations and furnishings of the house, traveling to Europe with the Choates for the purpose. The house underwent a variety of alterations and additions, some guided by architects George de Gersdorff (Joe Choate's nephew) and Charles Platt. The library was expanded in 1897, enclosing a space that had once served as a south-facing porch. The number of bathrooms was raised from three to nine in the early years of the 20th century. These changes, which included the addition of a porch to the master bedroom, necessitated the addition of a dormer on the third floor and a number of new windows. During the period of Mabel Choate's ownership only modest changes were made. Joseph Choate first offered the landscape design to

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

, but rejected his proposal to place the house halfway down the hill, where a favorite oak tree was located. The landscaping contract was instead given to Nathan Barrett, a self-taught designer then best known for his municipal work. Barrett's vision of the landscape was implemented between 1884 and 1894. His design included formal flower gardens near the house, and had a broad meadow slope down the hill, with an orchard. Choate commissioned White's friend and sculptor Frederick MacMonnies to produce a work; the result was ''Young Faun with Heron''. Between 1895 and 1925 minor changes were made to the gardens under the guidance of Percival Gallagher and Marian Coffin. Design decisions in the later years were dominated by Choate's daughter Mabel, especially after Joseph Choate's death in 1917. Mable Choate was a "preservationist, horticulturist, traveler, and collector of art." Mabel acquired full control of the estate after her mother's death in 1929. Mabel Choate began her long and fruitful collaboration with designer Fletcher Steele in 1926. Upon her death in 1958 the estate was bequeathed to the Trustees of Reservations, to be "an authentic representation of the times and manner of living which it now

958 Year 958 (Roman numerals, CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantine Empire, Byzantines under John I Tzimiskes, Jo ...

reflects." Of the approximately 700 gardens designed by Fletcher Steele, the Naumkeag garden is one of only two that now exist and the only one which is open to the public.p. 188
/ref> Naumkeag's main house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1975; the listing was expanded and the entire estate was designated a

in 2007. Its designation was made for the architecture and content of the house, which are well-preserved examples of a Gilded Age country estate, and for the innovative landscape design work of Fletcher Steele.

Notes

References

* *

Image gallery

Image:Naumkeag (Stockbridge, MA) - Afternoon Garden.JPG, Afternoon Garden Image:Naumkeag (Stockbridge, MA) - Blue Steps.JPG, Blue Steps Image:Naumkeag (Stockbridge, MA) - Chinese Garden.JPG, Chinese Garden Image:Naumkeag (Stockbridge, MA) - grounds.JPG, Grounds

External links

Naumkeag
The Trustees of Reservations
Property map

"Fletcher Steele and Naumkeag"
— ''online video on the gardens and their designer''.

— ''Naumkeag is one of the 12 — April 4, 2007 press release''.
The Fletcher Steele Archives at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
{{Protected areas of Massachusetts Gardens in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Stockbridge, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1887 Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Gilded Age The Trustees of Reservations Stockbridge, Massachusetts 1880s architecture in the United States McKim, Mead & White buildings Shingle Style houses Landscape design history of the United States Protected areas established in 1958 1958 establishments in Massachusetts Shingle Style architecture in Massachusetts Gilded Age mansions