Greenwich’s Famed Copper Beech Farm, Once the Priciest Home Sold in the U.S., Lists for a Staggering $150M

It’s not every day a home hits the market for $150 million, but then again not every listing is a 13,500-square-foot mansion on over 50 acres in Greenwich. The affluent Fairfield County town is known for its impressive properties, from multi-million dollar coastal listings to countryside estates. But, this pricey property right on Long Island Sound stands in its own class as the largest waterfront parcel in Greenwich.

Known as Copper Beech Farm, the estate is no stranger to making headlines. It last sold for $120 million in 2014 to an LLC, becoming the most expensive single-family home sold in the U.S. at the time per Greenwich Time. But, many deals have gone down since then. Get this—even if the Greenwich property sells at full asking this time around, it won’t even be close to the priciest residential closing in America to date. Billionaire Ken Griffith set a new high when he bought a 24,000-square-foot New York City penthouse for roughly $238 million in 2019.

Title or not, the historic property at the end of a 1,800-foot driveway is a prize for the ultra-rich. It promises seclusion, located on a private peninsula with an entire mile of waterfront, all within a gated community. With an additional island, sweeping views of Long Island Sound, a 75-foot swimming pool, and two private beaches, a new owner can easily escape here for the summer and forgo the classic Hamptons house.

Photograph by Daniel Milstein for Sotheby’s International Realty

For the price, it’s no shock the residence is much like an exclusive New England resort. The grounds boast meticulous gardens, a grass tennis court, and an apple orchard. Harkening to the property’s name, original milking stalls from the days of housing livestock still linger in the stone carriage house with a clock tower. Elsewhere, you’ll find a three-bedroom gatehouse, a pool house, and two greenhouses, too. Just your average listing, right?

Inside the eight-bedroom mansion with Victorian and French Renaissance influences, spaces are grand and steeped in history. The home was originally built in the 1890s for John Hamilton Gourlie. It changed hands around 1905 when the Lauder-Greenway family purchased it. Greenwich Time reports that wealthy industrialist George Lauder’s daughter, Harriet Lauder-Greenway, and her husband, James Greenway, added wings to the house and also donated land to the town. The estate stayed in their family until 1981 when it was sold to timber baron John Rudey. A true legacy property, only time will tell who will join the list of prominent owners next.

Leslie McElwreath and Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby’s International Realty share the Greenwich listing.