Merrywood Estate, the Childhood Home of Jackie Kennedy
A young Jackie Kennedy, the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and First Lady of the United States
Merrywood Estate, the childhood home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, is an iconic estate which has become eponymous with grace, class, and Americana.
The estate was built in 1919 by Newbold Noyes, owner and associate editor of the Washington Star newspaper. The two-storey Georgian mansion, surrounded by terraced gardens, originally boasted 46-acres of virgin land when it was purchased from the Noyes' estate in 1930, by Hugh D. Auchincloss II, a Standard Oil heir most famous for being the step-father of Jackie O.
Merrywood is one of the finest estates in Virginia, situated in the affluent neighborhood of McLean – just northwest of Washington D.C. – with 7 sprawling acres overlooking the Potomac River.
The property is located a few miles away from Mount Vernon, the family home of George Washington, who himself had once surveyed Merrywood's sprawling lands.
The 1940's brought the estate into prominence in large part due to Jackie's mother, Janet, who would host lavish parties and come to be known as the Mistress of Merrywood.
Jackie grew up on the estate with her sisters, spending her free-time swimming, horseback riding, and playing tennis. Her step-brother, famed American writer Gore Vidal, also lived on the estate, although not concurrently, and put the home as the centre of his 1967 novel "Washington D.C.".
The estate home spread across 23,000 square feet, with indoor and outdoor pools, a tennis court, several common rooms for entertaining, nine bedroom suites, and 11 full bathrooms.
Beyond its storied past, Merrywood is an architectural gem. With its original moldings still intact, and a garden designed by famed 19th- and 20th-century landscape architect Beatrix Ferrand, it's a piece of American history.
The home previously sold for $24.5 million to AOL co-founder Steve Case in 2005. The property was sold in 2018 to the Saudi Government for $43.5 million.
Want to See More Jackie Kennedy Homes?
Click below to read about Jackie’s Martha Vineyard Estate, Red Gate Farm.
Red Gate Farm “was a perfect expression of her romantic and adventurous spirit,” Caroline Kennedy wrote in a statement about her mother’s purchase of the $1 million dollar property in 1979.