Château-sur-Mer  Built in 1852, although large, the house is not a summer collage, but a family residence.  The owner, William Wetmore made his wealth in the China trade, then used it to found a banking company.  His son, George Peabody Wetmore, graduated Yale and Columbia Law school, later to become twice governor of Rhode Island and U. S. senator.  In 1870 he engaged Richard Morris Hunt, in the first of his great Newport commissions, to enlarge and modernize the house

 Château-sur-Mer, 1852, enlarged in 1871-78, front. Architect of second phase, William Morris Hunt, working for owners George Peabody Wetmore and Edith Keteltas Wetmore.  Family fortune first acquired in China trade, then banking and real estate.

 Château-sur-Mer, 1852, enlarged in 1871-78, view from rear of house.

 Château-sur-Mer, 1852. “Moon gate” at the rear of the property that once overlooked the sea but now has a view of the Watts-Sherman house, one of the key monuments in the development of the “Shingle Style” architecture by Henry Hobson Richardson (1870s).

 Château-sur-Mer, entrance stair, 1873,  Stained glass in aesthetic style by W. J McPherson & Co., Boston.  One of four bronze and gilt torchères in form of Japanese maiden, French ca. 1890.  Photograph by David Bohl by courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County.