This dreamy oceanfront estate is unlike any other in Massachusetts. Set on a bluff above the Atlantic Ocean, the property offers total privacy and peace set within a wooded 28-acre estate at the end of a half-mile winding Rhododendron-lined driveway.

The estate was created in 1844 by Richard Henry Dana, who built a two storey home overlooking Graves Island and the beach which bears his name, Dana Beach. The next three generations of the Dana family would summer at the property, including Richard Henry Dana Jr.

Dana Jr. was a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who is famous for his classic book ‘Two Years Before the Mast’, recounting his time at sea aboard a ship transporting cow hides from California to Boston.

In his third year of studying at Harvard University, Dana contracted the measles, from which complications resulted in his eyesight becoming so bad that studying became very difficult. Unable to continue at Harvard he decided to take some time off, and at the age of 19, he signed up as a crew member for a merchant ship, the Pilgrim. This was especially unusual because his family was wealthy and he was more likely to be a passenger, than a common crewman.

On August 14, 1834 he shipped out from the port of Boston headed along the South American coast, around Cape Horn and back north for the Mexican province of Nueva California, or what we know as modern day California.

At this time, maritime law was still very underdeveloped, giving Captains unchecked authority on the seas. Dana witnessed the terrible mistreatment of the crew by their captain which included practices such as flogging. He spent much of his time on the California mainland in a hide house, curing and loading the hides onto the ship to be sent back to Boston.

After nearly a year away from home Dana was ready to go back. While trying to arrange a spot aboard another ship, his Captain began to make things difficult for him, nearly refusing to allow Dana to leave. Worried that he would be trapped for another year, possibly more, Dana was able to leverage his position in upper society to secure a spot aboard the Alert. He realized that had he been a common man, his rights would have been alienated, and his future uncertain, decided by an unjust captain.

He kept a journal of his voyage and on his return to Boston vowed to improve life for the common seaman. He enrolled in law school and after opening his own practice, published ‘Two Years Before the Mast ‘ which quickly became a bestseller. During his career he would contribute to the reform of maritime law.

In 1902, a prominent Boston investment banker, Gardiner Lane and his wife, Emma bought a portion of the estate. They replaced the original Dana two-storey home with a newly-built Georgian Colonial Revival residence. The gardens were then designed between 1906-1914 by Frederick Law Olmsted, known today as the father of American Landscape Architecture.

Olmsted created the iconic gardens of The Chimneys on seven terraced acres of landscape that flow naturally from the property. The Water Terrace is high on the bluff and leads down to the Lavender terrace and a white-flower Tea Terrace, past an allée of raised vegetable beds, and down to a Rose Garden. The entire design is punctuated by original Olmsted structures, including a children’s Tree House and a newly constructed Orangerie built in the Olmsted style.

The gardens were restored in 1992, and the residence was completely renovated in 1996-98 to contemporary standards while maintaining much of the original charm of the property.

The 13,000 square foot home has eight bedrooms with seven full baths and two powder rooms, many offering serene ocean views. There are 12 fireplaces throughout the home, spread throughout the various formal rooms. There is a Dining Room, Living Room, Art Library, Music Room, Garden Library and Family Room; the custom kitchen features an open butler’s pantry and Tuscan-style wood-fired oven and grill combo.

There is also a carriage house with a two-bedroom apartment that can accommodate staff or guests, with 4000 square feet of space available to house a car collection, or to be turned into an office or used for entertaining.

The property includes 700 feet of white sand beach, with almost private access. The beach is shared privately by just seven families that also own a parcel of the beachfront which is not open to public beach goers. Private, but never isolated, the property is five minutes to charming Manchester-by-the-Sea and 40 minutes to Boston.

This property is listed for $21,000,000 by Michael Carucci of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty. All photos belong to the listing agency.