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House Lust: Inside Merrillton, a Gilded Age Mansion with a Romantic Landscape The Newport estate, which underwent a significant restoration in 2013, bears all the charm of its original design. July 20, 2021 Merrillton in Newport has lured many notable stewards over its 168-year lifetime. To start, the Episcopal minister George Merrill, the mansion’s namesake, bought the place in 1933. Then came the famed singer and Broadway star, Jane Pickens; in 2009, her daughter, conservationist Marcella Clark McCormack, deeded a majority of the property to the Aquidneck Land Trust. And Peter de Savary, the developer behind the Carnegie Abbey Club, ushered the early Gilded Age estate into the twenty-first century. He snagged it for a cool $2.5 million in 2012 and, two years and a period-sensitive renovation later, sold it to an overseas buyer for $8.7 million. It’s now back on the market with ....