Luxury Homes
A storied New England estate that’s seen visitors like President Taft is on the market.
Known as Knollwood, 4 Windmill Hill Road in picturesque Dublin, New Hampshire, is set on 104 acres filled with the type of storied background that fills history books. The Georgian-style home was built in 1900 by Franklin MacVeagh, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President William Howard Taft. According to a document filed with the National Register of Historic Places, President Taft stayed at the 13-bed, 9-and-a-half bath property in the summer of 1910.
The listing claims that beloved author Mark Twain stayed there for six weeks, reading “Huckleberry Finn” to guests in the grand ballroom, which accommodates 125 seated guests. According to the Dublin National Historical Society, Twain spent the summers of 1905 and 1906 in Dublin, New Hampshire.
The property was eventually acquired by Ernest Henderson, founder of Sheraton Hotels. Mitzi Perdue, philanthropist and heiress to the Perdue Chicken and Sheraton hotel fortunes, is currently one of the heirs selling the property.
Listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, Knollwood is perched on a ridge on Mount Monadnock. The three-level main house is an exercise in grandeur, filled with a 26-seat dining room, library, gorgeous terraces, and a grand entry foyer with a split staircase that cascades upward. Original details convey the magic of its history, from the hardwood floors to the clawfoot tubs.
“I think what makes the Knollwood estate so unique from the other estates that have sold in this general price range is its unique views,” says Sean Bakhtiari of the Bakhtiari Group at Compass, who has the listing. “You have 40 miles of panoramic views of mostly acres that you own, but then Monadnock Mountain as well in the background. The views and the acreage are unique to this property.”
There are two additional structures on the property. A historic three-stall barn sits far off to the right of the property, while a newer heated detached three-car garage directly to the right of the property has an apartment above. There is also a man-made pond on the property called Augusta Lake, as well as fruit trees and a vineyard that produces approximately 300 bottles of wine per year. Solar panels sit to its side. The property for sale comprises two parcels: 75 acres at 4 Windmill Hill Road and 29 acres at 0 Upper Jaffrey Road, for a total of 104.
One of the best features of the home is its proximity to so many great amenities, including golf, hiking, skiing, and horseback riding. The Keene Dillant-Hopkins Airport is also 15 miles away, and it accommodates private jets.
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