Newport, a city in Rhode Island, is situated on the southern end of Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay. Aquidneck Island, originally the native land of the Narragansett Nation for thousands of years, was sold in 1637 to a group of English settlers who fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious differences and intolerance. In 1639 a faction of these settlers broke off and settled Newport. This area then became a refuge for others fleeing religious persecution, which brought an influx of trade and industry and became one of the most important port cities in the British North American Colonies. In the 1770s, during the Revolutionary War and Rhode Island’s British occupation after the war reversed the city’s fortunes, but by the mid-1800s, Newport, RI, became what it is most well-known for today – a fashionable summer retreat filled with beautiful homes. 

With the languishing of Newport’s industry following the Revolutionary War, the area was not industrialized like other port cities, making it a tranquil summer respite for those in the South. Wealthy plantation owners chose the area as their summer getaway to escape the heat, enjoying the coastal breezes. In addition, outbreaks of yellow fever, malaria, measles, and other diseases drove these owners north, causing some to nickname Newport “Carolina Hospital”. 

George Noble Jones, a southern plantation owner from Florida, built one of the first summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue in 1839. Jone’s home, named Kingscote, was considered the largest home in the area at the time. However, as more “cottages” were built they became bigger and grander. The term “cottage” was a tongue-in-cheek label applied to the vast and opulent mansions that the wealthiest families of the Gilded Age built along the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. These houses, far from modest summer homes, stood as architectural marvels and symbols of the immense fortunes accumulated during America’s industrial boom. The cottages of Newport reflected not only the extravagance of the age but also the social competition that defined the upper echelons of society.