<p class="ingestion featured-caption">Chateau-sur-Mer.Gavin Ashworth — The Preservation Society of Newport County</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport, Rhode Island, was home to three generations of the Wetmore family.</li><li>Its wealthy residents once hosted debutante balls and a 2,000-person picnic.</li></ul><p>Before Vanderbilt mansions like <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gilded-age-mansion-vanderbilt-rhode-island-breakers-photos-2024-8">The Breakers</a> and <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vanderbilt-mansion-rhode-island-marble-house-2024-8">Marble House</a> put Newport, Rhode Island, on the map as an escape for the Gilded Age's wealthy elite, there was Chateau-sur-Mer.</p><p>French for "castle by the sea," Chateau-sur-Mer was originally built in 1852 for William Shepard Wetmore, who made his fortune as a merchant. He was worth an estimated $1 million in 1847, or around $32 million today, according to the Society for the Preservation of Newport County.</p><p>William Shepard Wetmore's children and grandchildren continued to occupy the lavish 12-acre estate until the last Wetmore living there died in 1966. Today, Chateau-sur-Mer is a museum and setting for scenes from HBO's "<a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gilded-age-historic-mansion-photos-2024-5">The Gilded Age</a>."</p><p>Take a look inside.</p>