Mabel Choate (December 26, 1870 – December 11, 1958) was an American gardener, collector and philanthropist.

Biography

Born on December 26, 1870, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, Mabel Choate was the fourth of five children of Joseph Choate and Caroline Sterling. Her father, Joseph Choate was a prominent lawyer, and served as U.S Ambassador to U.K from 1899 to 1904. Her mother, Caroline Sterling, an artist and educational reformer, played an instrumental role in advancing women’s higher education, and, along with a group women including

Annie Nathan Meyer Annie Nathan Meyer (February 19, 1867 – September 23, 1951) was an American author, an anti-suffragist, and a promoter of higher education for women who founded Barnard College. Her sister was the activist Maud Nathan and her nephew the author ...

, founded

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

at Columbia University in 1888. She studied at

Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9 ...

, which was founded by her mother. Her family summered at

Naumkeag Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted New York City lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The estate's centerpiece is a 44-room, Shingle Style ...

, their “summer cottage” on Prospect Hill, Stockbridge, which was designed by the New York City-based firm McKim, Mead & White. In July 1926, she met

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 Sta ...

, prominent American landscape architect, while he was delivering a lecture at Lenox Garden Club. With the help of Fletcher Steele, she developed a series of modernist gardens in Naumkeag, which made it as one of the horticultural show places of the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

. In 1927, she purchased the historic

Mission House (Stockbridge, Massachusetts) The Mission House is an historic house located at 19 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was built between 1739 and 1742 by a Christian missionary to the local Mahicans. It is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1968 as a rare ...

. It was built c. 1740 for Reverend

John Sergeant (missionary) John Sergeant (1710 – July 27, 1749) was an American missionary in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, through whose ministry many Mahicans converted to Christianity. Reverend Sergeant was a graduate of Yale, who became an ordained Puritan minister. He ...

, the first missionary to the local

Mohican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

people. Choate saved the house from demolition and turned it into a historic house museum. She was also a collector of ceramics, furniture, and fine and decorative arts including from China and India. She did not marry. She was actively involved in philanthropic activities, and associated with a number of professional associations at different capacities. She died in New York City on December 11, 1958. She left both Naumkeag and the Mission House to the Trustees of Reservations to be preserved for public enjoyment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choate, Mabel 1870 births 1958 deaths American women philanthropists Brearley School alumni Barnard College alumni American gardeners People from New York City