In 1963, clinical psychologist and pioneering psychedelic drug proponent Timothy Leary rented a huge house on a vast estate in the historic Hudson Valley village of Millbrook, which dates to before the American Revolution and ranks as one of the wealthiest enclaves in the state of New York. The almost 2,100-acre property had recently been acquired by brothers Billy and Tommy Hitchcock, members of one of the United States’ wealthiest families. The LSD advocate stayed five years, during which the estate was reportedly the target of drug raids.
Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the storied property has recently come available with a price tag of $65 million. Should it go for anywhere near the asking price, it will totally obliterate the standing record as the highest residential sale in the Millbrook area, which currently stands at just under $19 million.
Originally assembled over a period of almost 30 years beginning in 1889 from a handful of farms by German-born gas tycoon Charles F. Dieterich, a founder of Union Carbide, the vast property and its main house came to be known as Daheim. The estate was later owned by Standard Oil president and chairman Walter C. Teagle, who sold it in 1963 for a mere $500,000—nope, that’s not a typo, folks—to the Hitchcock brothers, heirs to the Mellon family oil and banking. Billy Hitchcock, who has long lived in Texas, told The Wall Street Journal that it was his sister Peggy who invited Leary to the Millbrook estate; he claimed she had a romantic relationship with Leary.
Still owned by the Hitchcock family, the property’s mostly wooded acreage includes two lakes, one spanning 45 acres and the other 60, along with a 38-room Victorian mansion, a smaller (but still very spacious), single-story residence known as “the bungalow,” and numerous other residences and outbuildings.
The four-story Victorian, originally designed by James E. Ware in the late 1800s, was much expanded during Dieterich’s time and spans almost 15,000 square feet. The house fell into a state of neglect, but over the last few years it has seen numerous restoration efforts and upgrades overseen by a local historian. Today, the public rooms still showcase high ceilings and ornate fireplaces, elaborate wood paneling, a carved wooden staircase, and stained-glass windows. Among the ten bedrooms is a two-room suite connected by a shared sitting room. There are also staff quarters.
The low-slung, elegantly proportioned bungalow measures about 10,000 square feet and sits on a slight rise above a swimming pool; it was commissioned by Dieterich and designed by famed architect Addison Mizner, who is best known for the Mediterranean mansions he designed in the early 20th century.
Other buildings sprinkled around the property include a bowling alley housed in a stone building; several Bavarian-style structures that include a gate house; a three-bedroom caretaker’s cottage; a carriage house with two apartments for guests or staff; and an extensive stone-built equestrian and farm complex.
The listing is held by Heather Croner of Sotheby’s International Realty.
Click here for more photos of The Hitchcock Estate.
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