Wood’s Hole mansion breaks Cape Cod sales record

The $20 million sale of a sprawling estate in the seaside Cape Cod enclave of Wood’s Hole has broken the previous price record for the Massachusetts peninsula.

The sale edged out Bill Koch’s $19.5 million purchase of philanthropist Bunny Mellon’s 26-acre Osterville estate in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Wood’s Hole property hit the market in December asking $25 million. It spans nearly 10 acres on Penzance Point, a hook-like peninsula angling toward the Elizabeth Islands on the very southwestern edge of the Cape.

That’s just across the Vineyard Sound from the island of Martha’s Vineyard, home to a 340-acre estate once owned by Jackie Kennedy Onassis that hit the market last summer asking $65 million.

The house was sold by the gas-and-oil businessman Jamie Clark and his wife Kathy Clark. Clark’s father, Wall Street executive and cancer research benefactor Jim Clark, left them the house in 2015 when he died. The buyer was not disclosed.

The property is surrounded by water on three sides with private beach access, a 36-foot pool, a boathouse, and a deep water dock. The estate has a total of six bedrooms. The traditional-style main residence has four bedrooms, along with an ornate library, several ocean-view decks, and a formal dining room.

The guest house adds two more bedrooms and includes its own wood-burning fireplace, deck, and dining area.

The Clark’s live most of the year in Texas but will keep a smaller property on Penzance Point, according to the Journal. [WSJ] — Dennis Lynch