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Ocean Edge History



Ocean Edge Resort is built on the site of the historic Cape Cod landmark, the Nickerson Estate. When Samuel Mayo Nickerson, the patriarch of the Nickerson family, built Fieldstone Hall in 1890, he was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Chicago. As such, the country house he built for his only son, Roland, and his family was in many ways a symbol of the success and fortune Samuel realized after leaving the Cape some three decades earlier.

Samuel Nickerson, a direct descendant of one of the Cape’s first settlers, William Nickerson, left the Cape in 1847 as a young man and headed west to Chicago. With him, he took a great deal of ambition and very little money.

A year later, now in the distillery business, Samuel married Matilda Crosby, a Brewster native. By 1859, with his business thriving, Samuel and Matilda’s only child, Roland, was born. Having rapidly become a major business figure, in 1863, Samuel decided to become involved in banking. He founded the First National Bank of Chicago and served as its president for some 25 years.

Originally part of an 1800 acre estate, among the largest privately owned estates on the Cape, the Nickerson’s Brewster property included Fieldstone Hall, a carriage house, a windmill (reportedly used to generate electricity), and a private game preserve. The Nickerson’s were socially and politically prominent and entertained frequently and lavishly. It was not uncommon for the social highlight of the season to be held at Fieldstone Hall. Guests came from throughout New England and included such luminaries as Grover Cleveland. In its heyday, the estate was said to have been staffed by 22 servants.

The year 1906 was a year of tragedy for the Nickerson’s. On May 24th, Fieldstone Hall burned to the ground, leaving only the foundation intact. Roland, in ill health, died two weeks later. A year later, under Roland’s widow Addie’s direction, construction of a new Fieldstone began. Fearful of yet another fire, Addie had the house built with steel reinforced concrete covered by stucco.

The new Fieldstone Hall was completed in 1912, and while it incorporates some features of the original, its architectural style reflects the attitudes of the 1900’s rather than the 1890’s.

Designed by a Boston firm, the new house more closely resembles an English country manor with an electic blend of Renaissance Revival and Gothic themes.

The first floor of the three-story, 480 foot long house contains a dining room, library, billiard room, breakfast room and large entrance hall. One of the house’s most striking features is an intricately carved oak staircase leading to the second floor. There are seven bedrooms, five of which are comparable in size to a modern living room.

Roland’s widow Addie and her two surviving children, Roland, Jr. and Helen, spent much of their leisure time at Fieldstone Hall. After the death of his wife Matilda, Samuel M. Nickerson also spent considerable time on the estate. Samuel M. died in 1914 just two years after the death of his wife.

In the 1930’s, the children of Roland and Helen began conveying the land. They donated the game preserve to the State which is now known as Nickerson State Park. In 1942, the mansion property was purchased by LaSalette Fathers. At first, they used it as a novitiate and then as a seminary.

In 1980, Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison, Inc. purchased the property, and in cooperation with the town of Brewster, developed a Resort and Conference Center that carefully enhanced and sustained this historical site.

Ocean Edge Resort now includes a hotel, some 700 privately owned condominiums, numerous swimming pools, a private beach on Cape Cod Bay, tennis courts, 3 restaurants, and a Jack Nicklaus Golf Course.


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