America's Gilded Age, the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, from 1865 to 1901 saw unprecedented economic and industrial prosperity. As a result of this prosperity, the nation's wealthiest families were able to construct monumental country estates in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

History

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Although most uses of 'cottage' imply a small house, the use of the word in this context refers to an alternative definition, "a summer residence (often on a large and sumptuous scale)".[1]

Cottages

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Approximately seventy-six estates were built in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, including:[2][3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sayer, Karen (2000). "Introduction". Country Cottages: A Cultural History. p. 1. ISBN 978-0719047527.
  2. ^ Owens, Carole (1984). The Berkshire Cottages: A Vanishing Era. Cottage Press. ISBN 978-0-918343-00-0. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. ^ Gilder, Cornelia Brooke (2017). Edith Wharton's Lenox. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62585-788-0. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
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