The estate was most notably the home of Frank A. Vanderlip and his family, and is a contributing property to the Scarborough Historic District.

In the 1830s, Folger deeded the estate to a self-proclaimed prophet, Robert Matthews, who believed himself to be the resurrected Matthias of the New Testament.

He hired William Welles Bosworth soon after to further enlarge the house and to design a wing for his library and the lawns of the estate.

Among the guests the Vanderlips hosted at the house were Woodrow Wilson,[11] Henry Ford, Sarah Bernhardt, Annie Oakley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, and Isadora Duncan.

[8]: 89  Vanderlip then collaborated with other wealthy estate owners to create Sleepy Hollow Country Club, which he sold Woodlea to in 1912.

[15] Near the center of the property, at the southwest corner of Route 9 and Scarborough Station Road, sits the eponymous mansion that features two large porticoed entryways, a two-story octagonal library, numerous porches, verandas, and over 100 interior rooms.

The lawns, formal gardens, and stone gazebo, erected by the Vanderlips, have been preserved and feature in wedding ceremonies that occasionally occur on the property.

[15] The Beechwood estate also contained a carriage house, gatehouse, squash court (no longer extant), and a white-stucco artist's studio named Beech Twig, which was home to author John Cheever, whose children attended the school on the property.

The estate's garage is located northeast of the mansion, and is a flat-roof, two-story concrete building dating to the early 1900s.