A Denver mining inheritor who loved fox looking and equestrian pursuits settled on the west aspect of Pinehurst within the late Nineteen Twenties. His wealth, in accordance with historic accounts, was extraordinary even by Moore County’s “winter colony requirements.”
The Georgian dwelling he constructed, with its Flemish bond brick, opens to a light-filled lobby with a grand staircase, triple domed home windows and exquisitely designed moldings and doorways. A wooden paneled library with scalloped bookshelves and unique Gracie wallpaper appears onto the house’s broad expanse of garden which rolls right down to a non-public lake. The second ground options seven of the house’s 10 bedrooms, all with up to date bogs, plus a spacious main bedroom and dressing space. A carriage home graces one finish of the house.
Named Sandy Woods Farm, the property is one in every of seven native properties that will probably be showcased by the 2022 Southern Pines Backyard Membership Annual Residence and Backyard Tour on Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Rambling over some 1,900 acres — an property so giant that directional indicators are wanted alongside the driveway to assist company discover their method — the house off Linden Highway has been within the McKean household because the mid-Fifties.
Q.A Shaw McKean and his spouse, Katharine Winthrop McKean, a former top-ranked American tennis participant, raised their 4 sons among the many wooded peace and seclusion of Sandy Woods Farm.
Tom McKean recollects using on the paths on a regular basis along with his mom, who was additionally an achieved horsewoman who bred racehorses.
“My father preferred the quiet life. I bear in mind him spending time within the library, sitting by the fireside. My mom was way more energetic,” he mentioned, with a smile. “All of us performed tennis, in fact. My mom was a superb golfer too.”
The McKeans loved their personal retreat to the fullest, including an in-ground pool and a tennis court docket. Additionally they employed a small military of family assist to handle the large property, together with a caretaker, live-in governess for the boys, a butler and prepare dinner.
The downstairs examine at Sandy Woods Farm. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot
“My mom all the time had 5 to 12 canine in the home. Principally dachshunds, these have been her favourite,” McKean mentioned. His father had bred canine in his earlier years and was one of many first within the nation to indicate Afghan hounds.
The 4 boys took most of their meals in an upstairs kitchen, McKean mentioned, at the very least till they have been sufficiently old — and mannered sufficient — to hitch their mother and father for dinner. By center college, every additionally adopted the household custom of attending boarding faculties and faculty in New England, Massachusetts, for essentially the most half.
McKean’s eldest brother, John, returned to Sandy Woods Farm within the Nineteen Eighties to care for his or her mom. A quiet philanthropist, previous to his loss of life in 2019 had typically opened the house for philanthropic occasions and actions. The farm stays privately owned however the McKean household have invested in upgrades to the equestrian services for public occasions and have making preliminary plans for the house to function as an occasion venue sooner or later.
The grand lobby at Sandy Woods Farm. Ted Fitzgerald/The Pilot
Sandy Woods Farm is one in every of seven native properties to be showcased by the 2022 Southern Pines Backyard Membership Annual Residence and Backyard Tour on Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Different properties on this 12 months’s tour 2022 embrace Inchalene, in Southern Pines; Fox Hole Farm, in Southern Pines; the Dunnagan dwelling, in Southern Pines; the Van Paris dwelling, in Pinehurst; The Therapeutic Backyard, in Pinehurst; and the Campbell Home, in Southern Pines.
Because the Nineteen Forties, the Southern Pines Backyard Membership members and volunteers have welcomed guests to expertise a few of the Sandhills’ most elegant properties and gardens. Including to the visible impression, every showcased dwelling will options inventive flower preparations designed by Southern Pines Backyard Membership members. Different properties showcased within the 2022 tour are Inchalene, in Southern Pines; Fox Hole Farm, in Southern Pines; the Dunnagan dwelling, in Southern Pines; the Van Paris dwelling, in Pinehurst; The Therapeutic Backyard, in Pinehurst; and the Campbell Home, in Southern Pines.