Born in New York City, he graduated from Groton School in 1900 and from Harvard University in 1903, where he was roommates with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

He was special assistant to the Secretary of the Interior from March 1917 to October 1918, and served as a private in the Tank Corps during the First World War.

The family lived in a series of houses beginning on Long Island where Brown bought a 100-acre estate on St. James Harbor where they raised and raced horses.

They bought the Saddle Rock Ranch totaling 1,600 acres from pioneer homesteader Christopher McWay, after which Julia Pfieffer Burns leased some land for cattle.

[5] The Browns first built a redwood cabin on the cliffs across from McWay Falls, which at the time fell directly into the ocean.

An ornamental brass fish, a large gold octopus with long tentacles, and a compass rose were inlaid in the entryway.

The bathroom adjacent to her bedroom was finished in a deep blue tile inlaid with gold, and mirrors were mounted and positioned to create endless reflections.

[5][6] Hans Ewoldsen, the Saddle Rock Ranch foreman, built a Pelton wheel on McWay Creek in 1932.

He worked in the machine shop of the highway construction crew, using hand-split redwood from the canyon and other materials he bought.

War-time rationing of vital supplies - included building materials - meant some ingenuity was required for the project.

[9] When complete, the distinctive, modern house had bold lines, along with a kitchen, living room, and quarters for a maid.

A wall was constructed facing due west to block the intense, direct rays of the afternoon sun.

In 1961, Hélène Hooper Brown donated the entire property to the state, stipulating that it be used as a park and named for her good friend, Julia Pfeiffer Burns, a "true pioneer."