High Seas

High Seas sits near the base of Champlain Mountain, on a property with almost 1,500 feet of ocean frontage. It’s said that Brünnow, who taught at the University of Heidelberg before moving to the U.S., wanted to create an American version of a typical castle along Germany’s Rhine River.

Because of his German ancestry, Brünnow was subject to local rumors during World War I that he was a spy who had a secret room at High Seas for espionage activity. The second owner, who bought the house in 1924 for $25,000, was a divorcee from New York City named Eva Van Cortland Hawkes. During World War II, she had some of the mansion’s roofs painted green for camouflage in case German bombers made their way across the Atlantic.

Ms. Hawkes kept mostly to herself, except for occasional parties where, as one account notes, “the champagne flowed freely and lobster Newburg was prepared in thirty-gallon batches.” She was noted for owning twenty-four Sealyham terriers, which would seem perfect for a house with so many rooms, but only a single ‘house dog’ was allowed inside at any one time.

During the Fire of ’47, while the surrounding area was devastated, High Seas was saved by its gardener, who sprayed water on it until the flames had passed. (The garage, with its eleven-room apartment, the butler’s nearby house, and a greenhouse all burned.) Ms. Hawkes died not long after that, leaving the property to three nephews, who donated High Seas in 1951 to the nearby Jackson Laboratory. It has been used since then as a residence for the high school and college young scientists who attend the Lab’s Summer Student Program.