Inside Chateau-sur-Mer, an Italianate-style villa known for its extravagant parties during the Gilded Age

William Shepard Wetmore made his fortune as a merchant importing tea, silks, and other goods from China. He and his wife, Anstiss, had three children: William Jr., George, and Annie. William Jr. died of scarlet fever in 1858.

Anstiss separated from the family when their children were young — she was rumored to have run away to Europe with a coachman.

George Wetmore was governor of Rhode Island from 1885 to 1887. He then served as a US senator from 1895 to 1907 and again between 1908 and 1913. His wife, Edith Wetmore, was a socialite, philanthropist, and hostess. They had two daughters, Edith and Maude, and two sons who died in young adulthood.

The Wetmores hired Richard Morris Hunt, the same architect who later worked on Vanderbilt estates in Newport, to restructure and redecorate their home while they traveled through Europe.

Chateau-sur-Mer was the earliest Newport mansion to host lavish parties such as debutante balls and a Fête Champêtre picnic for 2,000 guests. It remained Newport’s most extravagant residence until the Vanderbilts built homes such as The Breakers and Marble House in the 1890s.

Tickets cost $25 per adult and can be purchased on the Preservation Society’s official website. The Newport Mansions app also offers self-guided audio tours.

A French sculptor named Émile Guillemin created the bronze statues on either side of the staircase, and the painting on the stairway depicts the biblical Tree of Life.

“What we have here is a perfect example of how no surface would go untouched by an artistic hand,” Leslie Jones, the director of museum affairs and chief curator at the Preservation Society, said in the audio tour. “So it really is an example of how this house is a work of art itself.”

The stairwell also appeared as part of Mamie Fish’s house in New York City in HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”

Since George Wetmore inherited his father’s fortune, he didn’t need to worry about making money. He was a well-traveled patron of the arts who also engaged in public service as a politician.

The bookshelf on the right side of the room was a secret door that opened up into the Morning Room. The Morning Room once housed a billiard table, but is now used for checking in visitors.

None of the artwork on display in the Marble Hall Gallery today is original to the home. Its contents were sold off when the last Wetmore family member living at Chateau-sur-Mer died in 1966.

George and Edith Wetmore held their daughters’ debutante balls in this room. George’s sister Annie also held her wedding there.

“Large plate glass was still very expensive, so its prominent display in this room is also a demonstration of wealth,” Nicole Williams, the Preservation Society’s curator of collections, said on the audio tour. “And all the more so because large mirrors like this recalled courtly models from palaces like Versailles.”

George Wetmore’s daughters, Edith and Maude Wetmore, helped found the Preservation Society of Newport County and hosted its first meeting in the Green Salon in 1945.

Some of the Wetmores’ famous dinner guests included President Chester Arthur and Prince Wilhelm of Sweden.

In “The Gilded Age,” the Dining Room at Chateau-sur-Mer served as the setting of Mamie Fish’s doll tea party.

The carving depicts Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and frivolity, surrounded by mythical creatures.

The silver tarnished over time, but it would have glimmered in the light of the room’s gaslight lamps when the Wetmores entertained guests.

The Pantry also contained a dumbwaiter that transported food up from the basement kitchen to be plated and served.

The glass cabinets were more than just decorative — they also helped staff members find the pieces they needed in the dim light from the Pantry’s sole window.

Chateau-sur-Mer spanned three stories, plus service areas in the basement which are closed to the public while they undergo preservation work.

The Great Hall was designed in the 19th-century Eastlake style with dark wood paneling and simple, geometric lines.

After inheriting Chateau-sur-Mer in 1862, George Wetmore commissioned new bedroom furniture in 1869 from Marcotte, the interior designer who furnished the Ballroom.

The design featured a black “W” with gold “G” and “P” letters on either side.

George Wetmore’s wedding gift to his sister and her new husband was a piece of Chateau-sur-Mer’s land, where they built a home. The property, known as William Watts Sherman house, is now a dorm for Newport’s Salve Regina University.

The headboard featured the letters “ADW” for Annie Derby Wetmore.

The hallway didn’t have any windows since it was located in the middle of the house.

“Turkish” was an umbrella term for designs inspired by the Middle East and Asia that were popular in the 1870s.

“The idea of having a room dedicated to a style or aesthetic from abroad would’ve been a signal that that family was well-traveled and learned, which was highly coveted during the time,” Williams said in the audio tour.

His daughters, Edith and Maude, left his room exactly as it was as a tribute to their father.

Founded by William Morris, an English poet and artist, the Arts and Crafts movement valued hand-crafted designs over the mass-produced pieces that were gaining popularity.

“Employing individuals in these handcraft industries was a way of preserving that aspect of human history and human creativity and talent,” Jones said in the audio tour. “This is not too distant from what we feel today with things like ChatGPT and AI.”

The slipper chairs at the foot of the bed were constructed low to the ground to make it easier for women wearing corsets to change their shoes.

Staff members at Chateau-sur-Mer would help Edith Wetmore style her hair and change outfits several times throughout the day.

The Wetmores planted European weeping beech, London plane, Japanese maples, and Sargent’s weeping hemlock trees in their arboretum.

While many Newport “cottages” were only occupied for a few weeks each year, Chateau-sur-Mer was the primary residence of the Wetmore family for three generations. It’s a smaller, humbler residence than the Vanderbilt estates, but its exceptional architecture and history make it a worthwhile stop along Newport’s famous Bellevue Avenue.