House Museum Kevin Durst House Museum Kevin Durst

A Berkshire Gilded Age Museum - Ventfort Hall

Sara Spencer Morgan, sister of J.P. Morgan and husband George Hill Morgan commissioned Rotch & Tilden to build Ventfort Hall, and it was built between 1891 and 1893. They were 7th cousins so they both carried the Morgan name. The Morgan family summered together at their Lenox home until Sarah died in 1896, and then her husband in 1911. Ventfort Hall was left to their three children, Junius Spencer, George Dennison and Caroline Lucy, who sold the house and all the contents, so there are no original furnishings in the house today.

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Historic Sites Kevin Durst Historic Sites Kevin Durst

Gloucester’s Seaside Castle - Hammond Castle

In 1926, John Hays Hammond, Jr., retained the architectural firm of Allen & Colleens to create his castle which was completed in 1929 on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Hammond was a scientist, inventor and a pioneer in the study of remote control and held the largest number of patents, only second to Thomas Edison.

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House Museum Kevin Durst House Museum Kevin Durst

A Stockbridge Gilded Age Cottage - Naumkeag

Naumkeag is the former Berkshire estate of New York City lawyer and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Hodges Choate, and his wife Caroline, located in Stockbridge, Massachusettes. The Choate’s, who were part of the newly-rich, traveled in well-to-do social circles. They decided to build a 44-room shingle-style “cottage” with brick and stone details, designed by the architect of the day, Stanford White.

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