Blog

This post is available as a video at https://youtu.be/L4Gxc_QQWb0.

Naumkeag (website here) is a 44-room “Berkshire cottage” in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Gilded Age mansion boasts fantastic gardens, spectacular views, and an early sculpture by Frederick MacMonnies on display in the type of site it was designed for – a garden rather than a museum.

“Naumkeag” is a Native American word for the area around Salem, Massachusetts. I’ve seen no explanation of why this mansion in southwest Massachusetts was given that name. The mansion was constructed in 1885-1886 for the family of Joseph Choate, a high-powered lawyer from New York City. It was designed by McKim, Mead & White – soon to be famous for such landmarks as New York’s original Penn Station, the campus of Columbia University, and Boston Public Library.

Fair warning: I grew up in Pennsylvania with mountains that look a lot like the Berkshires. I associate mountains with my happy childhood. In these posts on Naumkeag, there will be lots of photos of mountains … like this one, the view from the south side of the house.

In this and the next few posts, we’re going to look at the exterior of Naumkeag, then gardens on its south side, the interior of the house, and the gardens on the north side. If you want to try to follow along, here’s the map.

Exterior of the house

The east side of Naumkeag (with the entrance from the road) is more formal, with brick facing and two large turrets. The west side is covered in rustic wooden shingles and has huge porches for enjoying the spectacular view of gardens, fields, and (yes!) mountains.

Gardens on the south side

Joseph Choate’s daughter Mabel (1870-1958), a collector and philanthropist, met eminent landscape architect Fletcher Steele in 1926. Together they designed a series of spectacular gardens that make Naumkeag one of the horticultural showpieces of the Berkshires. In 1958, Mabel bequeathed the mansion, all its contents, and its spectacular grounds to The Trustees of Reservations. The grounds are maintained immaculately.

I was stunned by the sheer acreage of gardens, including this stepped terrace.

The garden includes fascinating elements, for example: a double path of stone that loops around this huge tree. If I’m reading the garden map right, this is the oak tree that helped the Choates decide to buy this particular property.

At certain parts of the path there are cylindrical wooden “palisades” that gently rise and fall on their meandering way. If you zoom in on this photo, you can see them cutting across the brick walkway.

View of the southwest facade of the house from the gardens.

Here are the palisades again, much higher this time.

A long teak bench at the intersection of several different paths. What an unusual combination of materials and design!

Next week: more of Naumkeag’s gardens.

More

• Back in the summer of 2020, when most museums were still in lockdown or requiring masks, my husband and I discovered the pleasures of spending time in elaborate, exquisitely planned gardens. Our first excursion was to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, where we visited the Gilded Age mansions of Naumkeag, Ventfort, and The Mount. I shared photos of these on Facebook, but I prefer to have my photos on my own website. I’ve already shifted Ventfort (here and here). The Mount will follow eventually.
• For more Gilded Mansions and their gardens on this site, click here.
• Want wonderful art delivered weekly to your inbox? Check out my Sunday Recommendations list and rewards for recurring support: details here. For examples of favorite recommendations from past years, click here.