About Us

The Crane Estate includes Crane Beach, Crane Wildlife Refuge, and Castle Hill, a National Historic Landmark. This county-place era estate was developed and owned by Chicago industrialist Richard Teller Crane, Jr. and his wife Florence. Their family spent many happy summers here between 1910-1949 but chose to donate the estate to The Trustees of Reservations to ensure its preservation forever.

The Crane Estate is open year-round for public enjoyment--hiking, picnicking, and kayaking, as well as offering guided tours, private rentals, and public events. Annual events include Castle Hill Picnic Concerts, Roaring Twenties Lawn Party, Choate Island Days, Crane Estate Art Show, Christmas at Castle Hill, and live theatre. Additionally, Castle Hill is home to formal gardens, the Great House Gift Shop, the Inn at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate (a 10-room boutique inn), and CraneOutdoors, a summer day camp.

The Trustees is a member-supported land trust with more than 120 properties across Massachusetts. We preserve, for public use and enjoyment, places of exceptional scenic, historic, and ecological value.