Naumkeag Prospect Hill Road Stockbridge, MA 413.298.3239 Memorial Day - Labor Day
for guided tours, Tuesday - Sunday and Monday holidays 10am-4:15 pm
After Labor Day - Columbus Day, open weekends and holidays, admission
fee charged.
his stately and imposing property is a consummate example of what
the
Gilded Age of the late 19th-century Berkshires represented. Along with
many of the estates that would, in other circumstances, be described as
mansions, the 26-room Choate summer home is straightfacedly described as
a "Berkshire Cottage." Naumkeag, an Indian word meaning "place of rest,"
holds a commanding view of Stockbridge. The noted New York attorney (and
US Ambassador to England) Joseph Hodges Choate began construction here in 1884,
with the aim of building a dream retreat from the blistering New York
City summers. His family summered there until 1958. The architect was
Stanford White, who conceived of fantastic gables, dormers, brick and
stone towers, the whole structure in the Norman style, filled with
exquisite Victorian furniture, along with an eclectic collection of
oriental porcelain, tapestries and rugs. Guided tours help bring
perspective to the curious. The formal gardens are considered among the
most beautiful in America and came to fruition over the course of 30
years, initially under the direction of Frederick Law Olmstead and later by
landscape architect Fletcher Steele who worked along with the Choate’s
daughter Mabel. Visitors to the gardens are given maps to find their way
about, and many of the gardens have unique names and settings. In the
words of the Trustees of the Reservations, "Visitors can enjoy the aura
of grand times and gracious living that still lingers at Naumkeag."
Naumkeag
his stately and imposing property is a consummate example of what
the
Gilded Age of the late 19th-century Berkshires represented. Along with
many of the estates that would, in other circumstances, be described as
mansions, the 26-room Choate summer home is straightfacedly described as
a "Berkshire Cottage." Naumkeag, an Indian word meaning "place of rest,"
holds a commanding view of Stockbridge. The noted New York attorney (and
US Ambassador to England) Joseph Hodges Choate began construction here in 1884,
with the aim of building a dream retreat from the blistering New York
City summers. His family summered there until 1958. The architect was
Stanford White, who conceived of fantastic gables, dormers, brick and
stone towers, the whole structure in the Norman style, filled with
exquisite Victorian furniture, along with an eclectic collection of
oriental porcelain, tapestries and rugs. Guided tours help bring
perspective to the curious. The formal gardens are considered among the
most beautiful in America and came to fruition over the course of 30
years, initially under the direction of Frederick Law Olmstead and later by
landscape architect Fletcher Steele who worked along with the Choate’s
daughter Mabel. Visitors to the gardens are given maps to find their way
about, and many of the gardens have unique names and settings. In the
words of the Trustees of the Reservations, "Visitors can enjoy the aura
of grand times and gracious living that still lingers at Naumkeag."
