A Historic Nantucket Compound Just Hit the Market for $22.8 Million

Always wanted your very own family compound with easy access to a wide, sandy beach, as well as a scenic bluff-top walking trail and an iconic lighthouse? Well, you could be in luck, because a century-old coastal New England retreat on the far eastern tip of the island of Nantucket has just popped up for sale, asking a speck under $22.8 million. The listing, which encompasses four separate structures on an acre of land overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is held by Bernadette Meyer of Maury People Sotheby’s International Realty.

Designed and built way back in the 1920s by Boston architect William H. Cox, the residence was originally owned by textile magnate Harry Burrage and his wife, silent actress Mabel Acker. The property was later occupied by Broadway performer-turned-preservationist Regan Hughston and his heiress wife, Maribel Hartman, whose family fortune was made selling the notorious Prohibition-era tonic “Peruna,” which was about 18 percent alcohol.

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Tucked away behind a hedge-lined driveway, amid a bustling setting just a few steps from the Casino Association social club and across from popular Sconset Beach, the estate is showcased by a gray cedar-shingled and red brick main home fronted by a circular motor court donning a flagpole right in the middle. There’s also a recreation cottage, a guesthouse, and chauffeur quarters—for a combined total of 12 bedrooms and 11 baths in almost 11,600 square feet.

Meticulously maintained and renovated through the years, the 14-room primary dwelling features eight bedrooms and seven baths in a tad over 8,500 square feet of three-level living space boasting rich hardwood floors, high wood-beam ceilings, and several fireplaces. An entry foyer adorned with beach scenes leads to a spacious step-down living room warmed by a large stone-clad fireplace, a formal dining room opens via French doors to a covered veranda, and the kitchen is equipped with a food and coffee bar pantry, a center island, and top-tier stainless appliances.

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Elsewhere is a sunroom and a bookshelf-lined study, plus a second-floor primary suite that comes with a dressing room and a full bath. The top floor is a “sunlit blank slate, waiting to be transformed to suit your vision,” per marketing materials, complete with a vaulted ceiling, a full bath, and storage space, while the basement holds a wine cellar.

Accessed via a breezeway is the recreation cottage, which is primed for entertaining with a fireside great room sporting a wet bar, a covered porch, and a fire pit beyond. Additional buildings include the Stable, a former barn that’s been converted into a two-bedroom, two-bath guesthouse with an extra sleeping loft and its own living, dining, and kitchen areas, along with a one-bedroom, one-bath chauffeur cottage that has a living room, a full kitchen, and an attached two-car garage.

Click here for more photos of the Nantucket residence.