The Branford House at Avery Point. Groton Connecticut.

Branford House was originally a 31-room mansion that rivaled those found in Newport. It was built at a cost of three million dollars in 1903 . Features included panoramic views of Fishers Island and Long Island Sound, its two-story fireplace, a winding staircase of imported Italian marble, and paneled walls carved by Italian and German craftsmen.

 Morton Freeman Plant was a wealthy businessman chose to build his summer "cottage" at Avery Point for a number of possible reasons. Plant did not have an interest in being part of the social circles of Newport. He chose instead to be in the remote, yet increasingly popular, Groton area.

 English architect Robert W. Gibson carried out her plans. The exterior was done almost entirely in the Tudor style using granite quarried from the grounds in order to harmonize with the estate's natural surroundings. The interior on the other hand was a melange of several different styles that Mrs. Plant wished to dabble in including Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, Classical, and even Flemish. Materials used for the interior ranged from rich woods such as mahogany, oak, and walnut, to imported stone and metals such as onyx, marble sandstone, bronze, and iron. Plant required the services of hundreds of European carvers to do the incredible ornamentation of fireplaces, pillars, and panels, each one being entirely different from the next. In some cases the use of imported materials was not enough for the rich tastes of the Plants. In one case an entire room was imported. It wad dismantled from Cornwall, England, reassembled in the mansion, and became the Plant's music room.

Plant also used his money to improve the aesthetic quality of his estate in a rather unusual manner. He could smell the odor of rotten fish from his back door caused by the Quinnipiac Fertilizer Company which was situated on nearby Pine Island. He solved this problem by buying the island and shutting down operations there. It became a playground of sorts in later years for his granddaughters, who loved to play in the over 500-tree orchard that was planted there.

Places Ive visited in Connecticut.

Thanks to

 http://www.branford.uconn.edu/

for the information.   My pitures added.

UPDATE