Summerguide 2016 | view this story as a .pdf

We interrupt this magazine for a live feed directly from the Secretary of Defense’s house.

By Colin W. Sargent

During the Reagan presidency, everyone on Earth knew that Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger (1917-2006) kept a getaway place up in Maine.

But it was more something imagined than actually seen. Far fewer knew where it was, or how luxuriant it was, or that it was once owned by Mary King Auchincloss. Listed for sale this summer for $2.15M, “Windswept,” built in 1910, enjoys a classic view of Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island. Positioned to advantage at 584 Sound Drive, Mount Desert, its handsome aspect conjures up images of a Mount Vernon plucked from Virginia and nestled with jeweler’s precision into a savagely beautiful setting.

Somes Sound is the only fjord on the East Coast of the U.S. Excuse me, Somes Sound was the only fjord here until it was downgraded to a fjard, something of a geographic embarassment. (Just ask former planet Pluto what that feels like.) In any case, the most profound of Somes Sound’s indigo depths kiss the bottom at 175 feet. The Sound, which nearly divides Mount Desert Island in two, is still magic.

The dock, suitably, is long enough to tie up a Spruance Class guided-missile destroyer. Approach it from the water, guests traverse the plunging green lawn toward the nine-over-nine Georgian windows and the elegant front door.

Touring the 20-room house results in  an echoic sensation, because it’s completely empty. (Honestly, how could you restage the Reagan years?) Eight bedrooms, six full baths, and two half baths round out the creature comforts. The entire structure is just an eyelash over 8,500 square feet.

There’s an elevator and an in-law apartment. Our favorite place is the paneled library, big enough for a game of jai alai. Secretary Weinberger’s wife, Jane, an author and publisher, must have loved curling up here with her famous collie.

Here those who kept the world secure had a moment of rest to feel secure themselves. It’s vaguely satisfying to know that the kitchen of one of the most powerful men in the Western world needs, by all accounts, a complete redo. Otherwise, this is an astonishing property for those who dare to think big. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Taxes are $12,600.