Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s Sprawling Martha’s Vineyard Estate Hits the Market for $65 Million

The sprawling Martha’s Vineyard estate that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis purchased in 1979 and turned into an idyllic family compound has hit the market for $65 million.

Christened Red Gate Farm, the 340-acre property is among the largest on the island. (If it fetches anywhere near its asking price, it would break the $32.5 million local record set in January.)

Onassis bought the scenic parcel following the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. At the time, the only structure on the land was a hunting lodge, so Onassis tapped architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen to craft a main residence and guesthouse using the local vernacular.

An aerial view of the property includes the tennis court and vegetable garden. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate

The resulting dwellings adhere to the area’s Shingle-style aesthetic, with cedar-clad gables aplenty and crisp-white window frames. Onassis died in 1994, and her son followed in 1999, when a plane he was piloting crashed into the ocean near Martha’s Vineyard. A year later, his sister, Caroline, enlisted architect Deborah Berke to update the interiors of both residences.

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Measuring 6,500 square feet, the main house now features four bedrooms (all of which boast ocean views), a formal sitting room, dining room, library, kitchen, and two terraces. There are four additional bedrooms in the guest cottage, plus an outdoor pool, a vegetable patch, a tree house, and a tennis court.

The living room of the main residence has a view of the ocean. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate

Caroline Kennedy told the Wall Street Journal that she’s selling the compound now that her three children have reached adulthood. “Martha’s Vineyard will always be a part of our lives,” she told the paper, “but it is time for us to follow my mother’s example and create our own worlds. We hope that another family will treasure this place as we have for three generations.”

The property is listed with Thomas E. LeClair and Gerret C. Conover of LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.

The estate’s outdoor pool. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate

Architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen designed the main house in the region’s traditional Shingle style. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate

The pool court is the perfect place to enjoy a summer day. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate

An aerial view of Red Gate Farm. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's International Real Estate