About 75 such estates were built in Lenox and Stockbridge from the 1860s through the 1920s. Sadly many have succumbed over time to fire, demolition, or abandonment. Yet some remain for us to enjoy.
A handful have become exclusive resorts and hotels, such as Blantyre, Cranwell, and Wheatleigh. Tanglewood, once the warm-weather retreat of the Tappan family, has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. A few others have been preserved and are open to the public as museums devoted to portraying how their privileged inhabitants spent summers.
One such gem is Naumkeag, the estate of Joseph Hodges Choate, a Salem lawyer who increased his wealth by defending the interests of the new industrial aristocracy. Among his accomplishments was persuading the Supreme Court to declare the federal income tax unconstitutional, a decision that stood up for nearly 20 years. In 1884, Choate consulted his close friend Charles McKim, of the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White, about building a house in Stockbridge for himself and his wife, Caroline, and their five children. McKim assigned his colleague Stanford White to lead the project.
The Choates wanted a refuge, a place that would favor family living over large-scale entertaining. White designed a house with an eclectic, playful design that combined shingle-style and French Norman features. The east elevation, the formal side of the house that visitors would see on their approach, takes inspiration from Normandy, with its salmon-colored brick laid in a diamond pattern. The less formal west façade at the back of the house is made of wood and covered with shingles, punctuated by porches, dormers, and cross gables. The rooms contain cherry, oak, and mahogany paneling, ornate plaster, and brass and silver hardware. The sweeping lawns and terraces were the setting for countless parties and games of croquet.
