Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted New York City lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate and

Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate (June 16, 1837 – November 12, 1929, generally styled Mrs. Joseph H. Choate) was an artist, educational reformer, suffragist, philanthropist and socialite. She was the wife of lawyer and U.S. Ambassador to the Un ...

, 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, Stockbridge is h ...

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

McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...

, 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 Sta ...

in conjunction with

Mabel Choate 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, Mabel Choate was the fourth of five children of Joseph Choate and Caroline ...

. A National Historic Landmark District, Naumkeag is now owned by

The Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

, who operate it as a nonprofit museum.

Description

Naumkeag was designed by architect Stanford White of

in 1885 as the summer estate for Joseph Hodges Choate (1832–1917), a prominent New York City attorney and American ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1899 to 1905, and his wife

, 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, and artwork collected from

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, Europe, and the Far East. 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 Nathan Franklin Barrett (November 19, 1845 – October 16, 1919) was an American landscape architect. He is best known for his designs for company town of Pullman, Illinois, the Hotel Ponce de Leon in Florida and Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massach ...

, 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 Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), often erroneously referred to as William "Marcy" Tweed (see below), and widely known as "Boss" Tweed, was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany ...

legal cases) to part with on the south side of the hill. Choate was a longtime friend of architect

Charles McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...

, but most of the architectural design work was done by McKim's partner Stanford White. 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, 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 Frederick William MacMonnies (September 28, 1863 – March 22, 1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United States. He was also a highly accomplishe ...

to produce a work; the result was ''Young Faun with Heron''.Broderick, p. 344 Naumkeag, garden wall detail

Between 1895 and 1925 minor changes were made to the gardens under the guidance of Percival Gallagher and

Marian Coffin Marian Cruger Coffin (September 16, 1876 – February 2, 1957) was an American landscape architect who became famous for designing numerous gardens for members of the East Coast elite. As a child, she received almost no formal education but was ...

. Design decisions in the later years were dominated by Choate's daughter Mabel, especially after Joseph Choate's death in 1917. 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 958reflects." Naumkeag's main house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975; the listing was expanded and the entire estate was designated a National Historic Landmark District 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

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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
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Gardens in Massachusetts Historic house museums in Massachusetts Museums in Stockbridge, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1887 Houses in Berkshire County, Massachusetts 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