Bunny Mellon’s storied Cape Cod estate hits rental market at $25K a week
The estate features original gardens and expansive ocean views.
By Beth TreffeisenMay 22, 2025
2 minutes to read
The historic Cape Cod estate of renowned philanthropist, horticulturist, and socialite Rachel “Bunny” Mellon is available to rent this summer. It will cost $25,000 per week.
Located in a gated community, 19 Indian Trail in Oyster Harbors still has the original gardens that Mellon designed, along with a 1948 structure.
“The home has so much history, and that’s what makes it special,” said listing agent Michelle Sylvia.
According to the New York Times obituary on Mellon, the Cape Cod estate was one of many she had, including her principal residence in Upperville, Virginia, houses in New York and Washington, apartments in Paris, and summer getaways on Cape Cod, Antigua, and Nantucket.
Her obituary says Mellon was born into wealth as the eldest child of Gerard Barns Lambert, the president of Gillette Safety Razor Company, whose father founded Lambert Pharmaceuticals and invented Listerine.
Mellon had been fascinated with gardens since childhood, according to her obituary. Although she lacked formal training, she “read her way through the subject” and designed gardens for prominent clients, most notably for her friend Jacqueline Kennedy, who asked her to redesign the White House Rose Garden.
Mellon also designed Mrs. Kennedy’s summer home on Martha’s Vineyard and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum overlooking Boston Harbor.
She died in 2014 at the age of 103, leaving the Osterville estate to her grandson. https://www.youtube.com/embed/CA2F9JYaJEk?si=prD7NuDE_f93aGpS
According to the Cape Cod Times, in 2021, one of her grandsons sold another property Mellon owned in Osterville for $19 million.
The property listing states that the Indian Trail estate earned renown in the horticultural world and appeared in numerous magazines and books.
Mellon created a series of “outdoor rooms” at the estate, each with its theme and character. The gardens include a rose garden, a vegetable garden, and exotic specimens from around the world in a collection of plants and trees.
The Kennedys were frequent visitors to the property (whose Hyannis Port house wasn’t far away). Sylvia says the property’s manager shared stories of how Mrs. Kennedy recovered at the house after her husband was assasinated.
The first time Sylvia visited the property, there were items left from Mellon that nobody had ever touched.
After renovating the house to become a rental, Sylvia said there are still personal things throughout the property that Mellon designed herself, including the 1948 structure that boasts the original kitchen (where everything still works, Sylvia assured).
Sylvia said Mellon’s grandson probably built the second structure, mirroring her style in 2005.
If the history isn’t enough to lure you into the property, it boasts a large heated pool, water views of Sampsons Island, and a dock on Nantucket Sound.
The property has two side-by-side homes with six bedrooms and five full baths. Each house has a full kitchen and outdoor space.
There are still weeks available to rent during the peak summer months.
“Some people might like the history,” said Sylvia. “If history doesn’t interest you, certainly you are in a beautiful setting in a gated community.”