Castle Hill on the Crane Estate

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In Folder: Trustees: Our Properties

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Castle Hill on the Crane Estate

CHPROP

Property: Castle Hill on the Crane Estate

Title: Castle Hill

Description: Castle Hill On the Crane Estate is a 165-acre property in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Castle Hill was well known by Native Americans, who called the area Agawam, referring to its rich fishery. John Winthrop, Jr., son of the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, laid claim to Castle Hill in 1637. For more than two centuries, a succession of owners farmed the land. Under J.B. Brown in the 1880s, Castle Hill evolved from an agricultural holding into a gentleman’s farm. When Richard T. Crane, Jr., (1973-1931) a prominent Chicago businessman purchased the property in 1910 as a summer home for his family, he transformed the property into an estate that came to exemplify the "American Country Place Era." Today, the property, which was bequeathed to The Trustees in 1949, features a grand English-inspired manor house with lavishly landscaped grounds and gardens. Castle Hill was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998.

Date: 1949 (Bequeathed by Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr. Additional land given by Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Eliot II in 1980; Dr. Robert L. Goodale in 1980; Mr. and Mrs. David C. Crockett in 1981; Mr. and Mrs. David W. Scudder in 1981; and Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Venn in 1982.)

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