If a storybook mansion with a wild past sounds like your dream home, this Hudson Valley estate delivers—wallet permitting. Spanning over 2,000 acres in Millbrook, New York, it features turrets, lakes, and sweeping meadows. Built in the Gilded Age and later home to LSD advocate Timothy Leary, it’s where grandeur meets counterculture. Now, it’s listed for $65 million.
The mansion is set on 2,078.8 acres of sprawling land.
The 10 bedroom Queen Anne–style mansion was built in 1889 by German-born industrialist Charles F. Dieterich, who enlisted renowned architect Addison Mizner—known for popularizing the Mediterranean Revival style in South Florida—for the project. The result was a grand estate complete with wraparound verandas and elaborate Bavarian details. Other buildings on the grounds include a stone bowling alley, a charming gatehouse, and a carriage house with two apartments for guests or staff.
The mansion features gorgeous woodwork.
Following Dieterich’s death, the estate passed to Standard Oil president Walter Teagle before landing in the hands of the Hitchcock siblings—William Mellon “Billy,” Tommy III, and Peggy—descendants of the Mellon fortune. In the 1960s, it entered its most infamous chapter: under the stewardship of Dr. Timothy Leary, psychology professor and LSD advocate, Daheim (as the estate was dubbed by Dieterich) became a psychedelic research hub, according to Medium. The publication reported that with guests like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Mingus, the mansion hosted wild explorations. Frequent FBI raids eventually ended the tumultuous era.
Also on the grounds are ancient stone farm buildings, two lakes, verdant hayfields supporting a cattle farm, a three-bedroom cottage, and a carriage house with apartments.
The estate underwent a meticulous restoration in the late 20th century. Today, the property comprises two principal residences: the restored main mansion and a 10,000-square-foot “bungalow” guest house designed by Mizner in 1912. It also features ancient stone farm buildings, two lakes, verdant hayfields supporting a cattle farm, a three-bedroom cottage, and a carriage house with apartments, its listing agent shared.
The estate’s ancient stone farm buildings.
The listing is held by Heather Croner of Sotheby’s International Realty.
Rachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.
