You Could Own the “Summer White House” in Woods Hole
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
In 1920, the Boston Post nicknamed the Victorian manse for sale at 39 Juniper Point Road in Woods Hole the “Summer White House.” The home, known at the time as the Charles R. Crane Estate, was supposed to be where President Woodrow Wilson would spend his summer.
Charles R. Crane, son of Richard T. Crane (former owner of Ipswich’s Crane Estate) and heir to an industrial fortune, served as U.S. minister to China under Wilson. He offered up his Cape Cod residence to the President as a summer dwelling, and Wilson accepted.
“It is here that some of the leading men of the nation are expected to gather while the President is there,” reads the Post.
President Wilson never got the chance to hold any meetings at Woods Hole’s Crane Estate—or even relax by its sandy shores—because his staff rejected the whole idea. Wilson’s secret service agents claimed the grounds weren’t large enough, and the village could not accommodate all of the President’s staff. They said nearby railroad tracks and the home’s proximity to public walkways and streets posed as “obstacles to their regular plans for guarding the President.” So, according to the Post, Wilson reluctantly abandoned his plan to summer at the Crane Estate.
But just because Woodrow Wilson couldn’t live there doesn’t mean you can’t. The two-acre property on Juniper Point Road is on the market today for a cool $4.2 million.
The place boasts panoramic views of Vineyard Sound from its four-story tower and private beach below. The house has a total of 10 bedrooms, six bathrooms, and three levels of living space, not to mention several airy gathering areas and an antique kitchen.
Interested in checking out the would-be Presidential retreat? You can see the listing here.
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
Photo courtesy of Robert Paul Properties
