Wheatleigh, historic country estate
Wheatleigh is a large house built in 1893 in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, designed in the style of Italian country villas. The structure has two and a half stories arranged in a U-shape, with walls of buff-colored brick, ornamental terra cotta trim, and expansive windows overlooking manicured gardens and a nearby lake.
Henry Cook, a railroad and banking magnate from New York, commissioned Wheatleigh in 1893 and named it after an English family estate. Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park, shaped the landscape, making the property a hallmark of Gilded Age summer estates in the Berkshires region.
The name Wheatleigh comes from an English family estate that Henry Cook knew. The building reflects the taste of wealthy Americans in the late 1800s who chose to recreate European styles and demonstrate their refinement and worldly knowledge.
The property sits on a hill with views of the surrounding landscape and the nearby Stockbridge Bowl. A long driveway leads to the main entrance, and the grounds are connected by multiple pathways that invite visitors to explore the gardens and different parts of the estate.
An octagonal water tower about 100 feet tall once stood on the grounds and was affectionately called the 'Poodle Tower' because the estate owner buried her beloved poodles there. The tower still stands as a distinctive landmark on the property and carries the memory of the owner's deep attachment to her dogs.
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