SUITE Brings You...Castle Hill Estate, MA

Looking for something new and different this summer in the way of vacation spots? Look no further than Castle Hill Estate located in one of New England's most historic states – Massachusetts. There's more to coastal Massachusetts than the infamous Boston Tea Party! Enjoy the out-of-this-world scenery, build sandcastles, and explore quiet woods, hiking trails, and one of the most picturesque swimming beaches in the whole of New England. A Visitor's Guide to the Crane Estate is a self-guided landscape tour booklet introducing visitors to Castle Hill, Crane Beach, and the Crane Wildlife Refuge. It is available from the Castle Hill gatehouse and may be mail ordered in advance of your visit. Happy vacationing!

Centuries before becoming a grand summer estate owned by one of America's wealthiest families, 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.

Starting in the 1880s, J.B. Brown transformed Castle Hill Farm from an agricultural holding into a gentleman's farm. He improved roadways and plantings and renovated his modest farmhouse into a rambling, shingle-style cottage that is now known as The Inn at Castle Hill. The Inn at Castle Hill is centrally located on the spectacular conserved landscape of the 2,100-acre Crane Estate, encompassing rolling hills, quiet woods, open meadows, vibrant salt marshes, miles of sandy beaches, and spruce-clad estuary islands. The Inn at Castle Hill offers overnight B&B accommodation. Public restrooms are located at the parking area and in the Great House (during tours, events, and private functions only).

In the decades following Richard T. Crane, Jr.'s purchase of the property in 1910, Castle Hill came to exemplify the American Country Place Era with its farm and estate buildings, designed grounds and gardens, and diverse natural areas. The Cranes hired some of the century's most notable architects and landscape architects. The first house built atop Castle Hill, an Italian Renaissance Revival villa designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, was razed and replaced in 1928 with the 59-room Stuart-style mansion you see today, designed by architect David Adler. The Great House is furnished with period antiques.   more >>