Searles Castle Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
May 21st 2007 at 8:03AM

Here's a hot real estate opportunity, I don't see a castle come to market every day. Searles Castle in Great Barrington, Massachusetts has 40 rooms and seven turrets. The home, which has most recently served as a private school is now up for sale for $15 million. No pictures on the listing yet but you can see one interior shot here.

Searles Castle is one of two in the New England region (the other is in New Hampshire) that bear the name of Edward Searles. Mary Hopkins, the widow of railroad tycoon Mark Hopkins commissioned the castle which was built in 1888. She hired interior decorator Edward Searles for the project, and they married a year before it was finished (she was 22 years older than he). After she died he stayed in the castle for a time and then after his death it has been a private private school, conference center among other businesses and was most recently the John Dewey Academy.

The castle has 36 fireplaces, a dungeon, and more than 50 rooms for a total of around 60,000 square feet. It could be turned into a resort or a spa or perhaps a private residence once again.

[via CNN]
[Thanks, Timothy for this great find]

Tags: castle, great barrington, john dewey academy, mary hopkins, massachusetts, real estate, RealEstate, searles castle, SearlesCastle

Filed under: Estates

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Spectacular Bid May 22nd 2007 6:18PM

There are several interior shots via the listing agent, William Raveis in Connecticut. Go to their website and then search accordingly for Mass, then Berkshire Co.: raveis.com

Searles likely won't sell at that price as it would be double the highest price ever paid for a Berkshire property. The highest ever sold in the region was last month for the beautifully restored, Southmayd Farm on more land and in more fasionable Stockbridge for under $7M.

The retored (partially) grand "Elm Court" estate - perhaps the greatest of the Berkshire Cottages - has been on the market for years now, originally at $22M and now down to $14M still no takers. With that property you'd be the first non-Vanderbilt (heir) owner in its history.

This castle is nice, but a pure white elephant on 60-acres. You can buy a lot of interesting properties [both listed and "off the market"] in the Berkshires for less.

Tim Butterworth May 30th 2007 11:03PM

I drive by this castle nearly every day, and i can attest that it is a remarkable property. Great Barrington itself is on the rise as far as cultural offerings for the social elite; it just finished its second annual film festival. You are absolutely right that this is quite an extensive property for the Berkshires, but, for instance, there are numerous properties in Stockbridge and Lenox that would fetch significantly higher prices if they were on the market (Naumkeag comes to mind, as does the rumored sale of property at Marion Father's) However, Carnegie once had a summer "cottage" here called stonybrook, which had over 100 rooms, and, for some time, was the largest private home in America. You are absolutely right though; money would be far better spent in an old farmhouse in West Stockbrudge, or if youre looking for a remote location, in Tyringham or Monterey. But in the Berkshires, you're not really buying the house, you're buying the land. I only wish new-home builders recognized this before they clear acres of old-growth forest. Anyway, Searles really is a cool place; it could be a very funky yet still formal dwelling for anyone with the resources. Cheers, Tim

Spectacular Bid Jun 18th 2007 9:41AM

re: comments by Tim Butterworth

If Naumkeag, the grand Stanford White-designed house which I visit at least twice a year, was ever to be sold out of the Trustees of Reservations you'd see me shacked to the front door to prevent it. Never will it be sold back to private use. The same would go for Edith Wharton's home, et al.

As for privately held homes, you could hit in the 'teens' and maybe break $20M if ever High Lawn was placed on the market. Likewise for Blantyre although in both cased the price likely would reflect an interest to make (or retain in the latter example) them as commerical resorts.

I just don't see private homes - yet - fetching north of $10M in the Berkshires no matter how much culture, seasonal affluence, and relative easy to get to Boston or NYC. Spring Lawn didn't, the former DeSisto School mansion didn't, nor did the mansion of the late water engineer Milos Krofta now the "Lenox Athenaeum". All lovely estates needing restoration [as Searles would too] but none over $5M.