The Gilded Age Years: A Time of Transformation

by Trudy Coxe, CEO & Executive Director of the Preservation Society of Newport County

Hosted by HLFM director Pierce Rafferty

This recorded illustrated talk, presented August 6, 2023 by Trudy Coxe, will cast light on an underappreciated but incredibly lively period in America that bridged the late 19th to the early 20th century. The expansion of industry and transportation – and the lack of an income tax – gave rise to a new wealthy class of people with names like Vanderbilt, Morgan, Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller. Massive fortunes were made very quickly and spent on lavish lifestyles. More than opulent mansions, top hat-wearing robber barons and mustachioed presidents, the gilded age was a transformative time that ushered in modern America. Learn everything you need to know about this important period of American history.

Trudy Coxe has been CEO & Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County since December 1998. A non-profit organization that has been responsible for the preservation, restoration and revitalization of some of Newport’s most significant buildings and landscapes. Trudy oversees 11 historic houses in Newport, many of them built during the gilded age. The houses have been the stage sets for Julian Fellowes’ TV series “The Gilded Age.”