A Cape Cod estate formerly owned by socialite Rachel “Bunny” Lambert Mellon has been sold for $19 million.
Mellon, who passed away in 2014 at 103, was famously known for her significantly designed gardens, including her most heralded 1962 creation of the White House Rose Garden. The Rose Garden would go on to become a place where President John F. Kennedy — and presidents after him — hosted significant events.
After nearly four months on the market for the listing price of $19.8 million the Osterville, Massachusetts, estate, which included some of the last gardens designed by Mellon, found a buyer.
The estate on the private island of Oyster Harbors overlooks Nantucket Sound and Martha’s Vineyard. Situated on over 7 acres, it is also known as one of Cape Cod’s original homes.
A 350 year old house, the main property consists of seven bedrooms and five full baths with 270 degrees of water views, the listing states.
Zenas Crocker of Robet Paul Properties held the listing.
“A family that’s been in the area for a couple of generations purchased the property. As far as we know, their intention is to keep it as the historic property it is and has always been,” Crocker told the Cape Cod Times.
Crocker would not reveal who the buyers were, only that they had several other Cape properties and are extremely private.
The estate formerly belonged to Mellon’s grandson Thomas Lloyd, who made the decision to sell the home. “My grandmother began a multi-year renovation of the main house beginning in 1978,” Lloyd told House Beautiful. “Additionally, she added a guest house (referred to as the children’s barn), herb garden, vegetable garden and main formal garden. She designed the guest house specifically for my two older half-sisters.”
According to Crocker, Lloyd was “thrilled” the buyers were interested in preserving the home as it is.
“She specifically designed it for our family dynamic,” Lloyd, who grew up spending time at the home told House Beautiful. “I remember my earliest summer memories swimming off the dock of the house. She planted a variety of pear and apple trees around the perimeter of the garden, as well as honey locust and sassafras trees, which she and her landscaping team carefully pruned over decades.”
The estate, known as “Scallop Path,” includes three separate structures, including the main property, the guest house and a chimney house.
The estate includes a central chimney house with a passageway to where occupants could safely hide, which many assume was during King Phillip’s war, according to the listing.
Between all buildings are eight separate fireplaces. The home was later restored in the 1970s and modernized. The guest house comes with two separate bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a laundry room.
The gardens carefully designed by the late Mellon, include flower gardens, herb and vegetable gardens.
The estate also holds a boathouse and a garage.
