Women History Museum

In the Society of Women

During the Gilded Age, wealthy Americans came to Newport to conquer society or be sanctioned by it, as it was the ne plus ultra for the fashionable set. In 1874, when Alexander Agassiz purchased Castle Hill and built his summer home here, the Queen of Newport society was Mrs. August Belmont née Caroline Slidell Perry.

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Off-Season Splendor

Newport’s grandest homes, including the Agassiz mansion at Castle Hill, were built as summer “cottages”. Luckily for us, this did not mean that their construction was in any way flimsy or unable to be hospitable in winter. For example, the exterior walls of The Elms mansion, pictured in the snow, are three feet thick! Not

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Snapshots of Cliff Walk

The charm of the Castle Hill Inn is due in large part to its historic structures – the Agassiz mansion, Castle Hill Light and the Chalet – combined with its seaside setting. Guests who enjoy this elixir of New England charm will surely enjoy the Cliff Walk, on the eastern end of the peninsula that

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Two-Wheel Drive

This season we have introduced sleek new touring bikes from Martone Cycling Co. for our houseguests to enjoy, complimentary, of course. Designed as a fashionable urban bicycle, they are also perfect for exploring the nooks and crannies of the Ocean Drive. Our horticulturist Leita and I took them out for a spin and were pleasantly

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Daffodils and Bear-shaped hedges

Newport Mansions Spring Preview

I think we can agree that the definitive symbol of spring is the flower. And what about the definitive activity: spring cleaning? And the creatures that best represent the season? The birds, of course. Well, springtime at the Newport Mansions has that all covered for you and then some. If flowers are your thing head

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JT O'Connell

Founding Fathers

The stellar attributes of the Castle Hill property cannot be denied and, in a very real sense, we owe our enjoyment of it to our two great benefactors: Alexander Agassiz and J.T. O’Connell. Once acquired, both men were enamored of the place for life, and left it in the hands of their descendants. Alexander Agassiz

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Photo of Rough Point in the winter

A Rough Point Holiday

Newport is alive with history. And history gives us tradition. Traditionally, the holiday program of the Newport Restoration Foundation (newportrestoration.org) has featured Rough Point in “Undecked Halls” – reflecting the state of the house in winter, when its chatelaine, Doris Duke, had decamped to other climes. This year, they have added another element, with certain

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Photo of Sailboats for Hope sailing through

Boat Traffic

Newport is the sailing capital of the world, and there is no better place to watch the sailboats floating by, or racing by, than at the Castle Hill Inn, but there is much more to the daily boat show. Located, as we are, on the East Passage of Narragansett Bay, a panoply of marine traffic

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Aerial View of Vernon Court in Newport

Museums of Bellevue Avenue

Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island features almost too many museums to list – from the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum and the Audrain Automobile Museum on upper Bellevue to the several properties of the Preservation Society of Newport County that line the length of this august boulevard. These latter are house museums and

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Picture of path on Nature walk

Nature Walk and Talk

We are immensely proud, if not in awe, of our forty-acre property. It sprawls down from the mansion-topped hill with its view of Newport Harbor and the Newport Bridge. The East Passage of Narragansett Bay flanks our western shore, and Castle Hill Cove cradles the peninsula to the east. Heading south you pass, and maybe

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