Birnam House was designed by noted architect Bruce Price for Mr. & Mrs. Robert Schell, who used it as their summer home. The building was completed around 1900 and had 125 rooms and a private chapel.  The Schells landscaped the 125-acre estate, adding artificial lakes and a sunken garden.  After Robert’s death in 1928, the estate became the property of Northfield Hotel, which operated into the 1970s.  Today the land is a golf course and the building no longer exists.