Grandly situated on 2100 acres of seaside hills and wildlife sanctuaries the Crane Estate historically known as "Castle Hill", attaches Cape Ann's Atlantic waters to Ipswich Massachusetts. The sprawling grounds of nature trails and saltmarsh fisheries blanketing the 59-room edifice provide tourists of today with tranquil recreation while offering a historical lens into Native American culture and polarizing wealth of the industrial revolution. Formerly an expansive "Italianesque" villa erected as a summer retreat by Richard Teller Crane Jr. in 1910, the 17th-century Stuart style mansion presently occupying the grounds stands preserved to period perfection since completion in 1928. Once an influential meeting ground of former Presidents Woodrow Wilson and William Howard Taft, the greatest decisions made on the Estate today are commonly nuptials. As the courtyard and rolling hills of the "Grand Alleè" provide most-memorable picturesque backdrops, Castle Hill is a sanctuary of commitment and adoration. Griffin statues line the half-mile, crushed stone entrance and ornamental flashings of lead and aged copper cover the mansion's visage. Greeted by salty winds and near sounds of surf, the propensity for emotions of importance and exclusivity are nearly unavoidable upon entering the decorative foyer. The fresh scent of roses and seasonal paint quaff a distinguished sensual welcome. Victorian moldings frame the view while smooth marble tiles provide a gliding sense of confidence underfoot. These are but few of many intended impressions by renowned architect David Adler and son of Chicago-based Crane & Company's founder and industrialist-Richard Teller Crane Sr. .
The first Governor of Massachusetts John Winthrop instructed the State in 1633 to purchase the land known as Castle Hill from the Agawam tribe of Native Americans. The Agawam Tribe had chosen the "great hill" for its vantage point and naturally defensive, castle-like attributes of winding marsh waterways and superior visibility.