Real Estate Confidential is a weekly chit chat about new listings, sales, or other insider info on the Martha’s Vineyard real estate market, by Fred Roven, Martha’s Vineyard Buyer Agents. It appears each Friday in The Minute. All photos courtesy Wallace and Co./Sotheby’s International Realty.
Actually $14,850,000 — but who’s counting? I know I have described other homes as the best and other views as the most dramatic. I think the combination of softly rolling waves, bright sun, mild weather, and bright green lawn may have had some effect, but this one really is close to the best if not the best. For the same price you can find massive homes with pools down-Island but never with the old Vineyard charm of up-Island oceanfront living.
Stonewall Beach is certainly one of the most unique beaches on Martha’s Vineyard and possibly worldwide. The area is comprised of Stonewall Pond, which is fed by waters from the North Shore passing through Menemsha Pond and Nashaquitsa. The pond is separated from the ocean by a ½ mile of cobblestone beach. There are other beaches of cobblestone on the vineyard but they usually are covered by moving sands as the seasons change. Stonewall Beach is cobblestone and there is constant shifting that takes place, but always replaced by more (but new and different) cobblestones.
I feel certain the cobblestones for the guest house, which sits nestled between the pond and the beach, came right off the beach. In a past life (30 years ago) I spent a weekend retreat at the cottage and the memories remain vivid. The sound of rolling cobbles as the waves roll in is unforgettable. With each wave comes stones, smoothing them out as they roll. Island history has many stories of walls and fireplaces built from cobblestones collected on Stonewall Beach. Imagine the stone sculpture possible with thousands and thousands of cobblestones to choose from. The views from the main house are breathtaking and the Pond House still remains my favorite. A casual living-room with that stone fireplace, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath — and what beach cottage would be complete without a gourmet kitchen? Short stroll with coffee to pondside or your own, private Atlantic Ocean Beach for swimming, kayaking, or surfing.
The property at 95 Stonewall Road is a true seaside retreat. Listed by Cassie Bradley and Shakti Reynolds at Wallace and Co./Sotheby’s International Realty Co. Sitting on 4 acres, the main house has massive sliding glass doors that showcase the unparalleled views from nearly every room, over the decks, across the manicured lawn, over wetlands and out to the pond to your right and ocean for as far as the eye can see. Views to your west toward the pond are over conservation land so you only neighbors will be birds, gulls and an occasional turtle. Often oceanfront properties sit low on the land and views are narrow. Not so with Stonewall, the house sits on a bluff giving elevation and a wide, expansive view with lots of sky and ocean. The main house is packed with amenities including a chef’s kitchen, a living room with fireplace plus 4 bedrooms and 4 ½ baths.
So let’s summarize what you are getting (and I would recommend buying most of the period furniture for this 1956 contemporary):
- 780 SF 2 BR pond house
- 2200 SF main house
- Pond front ownership with plenty of spots for canoes, kayaks and surfboards
- Sole ownership of an oceanfront beach lot bounded only by Stonewall Association private beach available if you need more than one lot.
- Paradise is located at the intersection of Stonewall Pond and the Atlantic Ocean
In addition to the photos included here, check out the video tour and additional information at 95 Stonewall.
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