Long Island Gold Coast Mansion of Actress and Post Cereals Heiress Dina Merrill Hits the Market at 1.8 Million
There are celebrity real estate stories. And then there are stories that carry an entire American dynasty inside them.
A 120-year-old Colonial mansion on Long Island’s North Shore, once owned by Old Hollywood actress Dina Merrill, just hit the market for $1.8 million.
The iron gates, the grand ballroom, the nine acres along a river. This is not a generic luxury listing. It is a piece of a very specific American world.
And the price tells you something interesting.
The Woman Behind the Address
Dina Merrill was born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton on December 29, 1923, in New York City. Her father was E.F. Hutton, the Wall Street broker. Her mother was Marjorie Merriweather Post, the Post Cereals heiress who was, at one point, the wealthiest woman in America.
She grew up summering at her mother’s lavish 177-acre estate in Brookville on Long Island’s Gold Coast. Winters meant Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, the 115-room estate Marjorie built in the 1920s, later purchased by Donald Trump in 1985.
By every measure, she was born into a life that required nothing from her. She chose otherwise. She dropped out of college, defied both parents, and built an acting career that spanned six decades and over 100 film and TV credits.
She was once proclaimed “Hollywood’s new Grace Kelly.” She never traded on the Hutton name professionally. She died in East Hampton on May 22, 2017, at age 93.
The Property Itself
The brick Colonial was built in 1905 and sits in the Smithtown hamlet of St. James on Long Island’s North Shore.
According to Mansion Global, the nearly nine-acre estate runs along the Nissequogue River, with an additional 4.5 acres of wetlands across the river. In the 1920s, it served as a hunting and fishing lodge.
Today, behind the black iron gates, the home spans over 6,200 square feet across two stories. There is a grand ballroom that still echoes the early 20th-century entertaining world this property was built for. A large stone fireplace.
Six bedrooms, five full bathrooms and one half-bath, with the primary suite on the first floor. A three-car detached garage and a full unfinished basement.
It is listed “as is.” Significant work is expected. Listing agent Bonnie Glenn of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty described it as “a rarity in an era when so many great estates have been divided.”
The property last sold in March 2021 for $1.1 million. It is now asking $1.8 million.
What This Market Actually Looks Like
That $700,000 jump in four years is not a surprise to anyone watching the North Shore closely.
Nassau luxury inventory fell 6.9% year over year in 2025. The luxury entry threshold for Nassau County hit $1,350,000 in Q2 2025, the fourth consecutive record. Properties with compelling histories and genuine scarcity are sitting in a seller-friendly market right now.
Celebrity-connected homes do not always sell fast or clean though. The history of the person attached to a property shapes how buyers approach it, sometimes adding premium, sometimes adding complexity.
That same tension showed up when the farmhouse where the FBI arrested Ghislaine Maxwell was listed for $2.5 million, a property where the story was impossible to separate from the asking price.
This listing works differently. The Merrill connection is one of quiet legacy, not controversy. That tends to attract a different kind of buyer entirely.
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Why This Matters
Marjorie Merriweather Post inherited $20 million in 1914, worth over $500 million today, and built General Foods Corporation from a cereal company.
The family that built Mar-a-Lago and summered on a 177-acre Gold Coast estate now has a connected address available at $1.8 million, as is, with the ballroom still standing.
According to the Long Island Luxury Real Estate Report H1 2025, the Nassau North Shore submarket hit a median price of $1,445,000 in Q1 2025, up 20.4% year over year.
Long Island-wide luxury inventory sits at 54.6% below pre-pandemic levels. In a market this tight, correctly priced properties with real character move.
Distinctiveness is doing a lot of work across the luxury market right now. When Drew Barrymore sold her $5 million Westchester mansion with 12 acres and a private gate, buyers were not just purchasing land.
They were purchasing access to a story. This listing operates the same way.
And when something like a Florida foam dome home shaped like the Death Star hits the market and draws national attention, it confirms what buyers increasingly want: something they cannot find anywhere else.
A 120-year-old Colonial ballroom on the Nissequogue River, once belonging to a Hollywood actress who inherited America’s cereal empire and walked away from it, qualifies.
Key Takeaways
- Dina Merrill’s former Long Island mansion is listed at $1.8 million
- Built in 1905, Colonial-style brick, St. James, Smithtown on the North Shore
- Nearly 9 acres along the Nissequogue River, plus 4.5 acres of wetlands
- Over 6,200 sq ft, 6 beds, 5.5 baths, grand ballroom, stone fireplace
- Listed “as is” and likely needs significant renovation work
- Last sold in March 2021 for $1.1 million
- Nassau North Shore luxury median reached $1,445,000 in Q1 2025, up 20.4% year over year
- Listing agent: Bonnie Glenn, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty
What do you think: does a home like this hold more value because of who owned it, or does the “as is” condition cancel out the legacy appeal for most buyers? Drop your take in the comments below.
Wrapping Up
A 120-year-old ballroom. Nine acres on a river. A name tied to one of the most quietly extraordinary American dynasties of the last century. And a price that is, by North Shore luxury standards, within reach.
Dina Merrill made a career out of refusing to coast on her inheritance. This home now gives someone else the chance to decide what to do with what she left behind.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication.
