40 US Historical Homes That Are Worth the Visit

27.Castle Hill

Castle Hill in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a classic surviving example of the Country Place Era of landscape design in which wealthy Americans had extensive, luxurious gardens designed for their estates. It includes numerous outbuildings, a palatial mansion, and expansive, carefully landscaped gardens. The New York firm Olmsted Brothers designed the landscaping. These were the famed Frederick Law Olmstead, sons who designed Central Park, Prospect Park, and other famous spaces. Castle Hill has a massive grass mall, terraced gardens, and many other luxuriously designed gardens. The mansion and the salt marsh near it are part of the 2,100-acre Crane Estate, including 21 outbuildings, the mansion itself, and several designed landscapes.

Crane initially built an Italian Renaissance-style villa, though his wife despised the mansion for its cold draftiness. He promised her that if she gave it ten years, he would replace it if she still hated it. In 1924, true to his word, Crane tore down the Renaissance villa, and a new, 59 room mansion in the style of 17th-style Stuart, designed by architect David Adler took its place. The mansion remains largely unchanged today, and the Olmstead brothers’ landscaping remains resplendent as ever. After the Cranes passed, the property was used for outdoor concerts for legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Dave Brubeck. The next entry on the list is a much less grand, though no less historic, home. Keep reading and find out more about the Jonathan Corwin House!