Labor Day Weekend marked the end of summer, but up in the Hudson Valley, the shift feels like an invitation to embrace the area’s cozy atmosphere for fall. For some, that may even mean feeling called to buy a home there finally. After all, Upstate New York puts on quite a show this time of year with its foliage, farmer’s markets, and storied towns.
This historic yet move-in-ready property spans more than 140 acres in New Lebanon, a town shaped by its farming traditions and Shaker heritage. Listed for the first time in 40 years, Mossford Estate is centered by a Federalist-style main house built in the early 1800s and is asking a mere $2.5 million.
The MacMurray family purchased the four-bedroom charmer in 1986 and, together with architect Jeremiah Rusconi, raised the foundation and restored its character. According to the New York Post, it was formerly a crumbling 19th-century barn that was once used as a boarding school. Thankfully, they preserved the wide-plank floors, hand-painted doors, and period hardware and polished everything up a bit. More recently, designer Janine Carendi MacMurray of AREA Interior Design helped devise the enchanting interiors with patterned wallpapers, antique decor, and more.
Looking as if it’s straight out of a vintage Ralph Lauren catalogue, the den is the centerpiece of the main floor with double-height ceilings, exposed timbers, and a brick fireplace with rustic soul. Gorgeous mullioned windows brighten the wood-heavy framing. The kitchen’s wing is another large communal space, with an adjoining yellow dining room fit to hold many dinner guests.
“It was a place where we would congregate for all of our big meals with family Christmases, Easter and all that kind of stuff,” John MacMurray, whose parents purchased the place decades ago, told the Post. The estate also includes a classic red barn, currently housing an antique truck, but brimming with possibilities. Beyond the structures, the sprawling landscape provides an excess of space for other amenities. Right now, there’s a tennis court, private pond, and mature vegetable gardens, but a new owner could dream up new additions as well.
“We don’t really have the time to get up there and to use the place the way that we would want to. And we’re really looking for somebody who can come and appreciate the historical elements and all the care that we sort of put into renovating and restoring the house,” MacMurray shared with the Post.
The property is meant to be enjoyed all year round, with MacMurray recalling summers driving tractors in the yard and winters skating on the frozen pond. It was an outdoorsy childhood getaway from his family’s Manhattan apartment, and now the estate awaits new stewards to create memories there.
Anthony D’Argenzio and Jeffries Blackerby of Houlihan Lawrence holds the listing.