Estate of Clarence Barron, former Dow Jones & Co. owner, for sale

The Massachusetts estate of Clarence Barron, who bought The Wall Street Journal in 1902 and whose family kept it until selling it in 2007, is for sale for $55 million.

The Oaks has a 20,000-square-foot mansion with 45 rooms and surrounding property.

Bob Salsberg of the Associated Pres writes, “The Oaks offers plenty of amenities to a buyer willing to negotiate the steep price — and navigate through the seemingly endless maze of construction and traffic detours on the roads leading from Boston to the estate.

“The 45 rooms include eight bedrooms, a library, a gallery and an English-style pub in the basement.

“Outside is a skating pond in the winter and a private beach in the summer. Visitors can play chess poolside, as long as they don’t mind moving the heavy, 2-foot-tall stone pieces around the lawn chessboard. Six built-in grilling stations allow ample space to cook burgers. One of the stations is on a rooftop deck that offers a panoramic view of the harbor.

“A wooden footbridge leads from the main property to a sheltered deep-water dock, where Roy parks his 77-foot yacht. Other boats are kept at the marina, which is made up of several buildings including one that appeared prominently in the 1987 film, ‘The Witches of Eastwick.'”

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