Note: This article contains spoilers for episode five of Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. Carolyn Bessette.
When Carolyn Bessette first visited the Kennedy family compound, she was, by one account, nervous. Added onto the normal pressures of meeting her then boyfriend’s famous family, she was joining a rarefied group: guests of the Kennedys, granted entry into their summer sanctuary and the ultimate symbol of Camelot.
“Her friend MJ Bettenhausen said she was anxious, and tried to dress and act as she thought a Kennedy should, or at least a guest of the Kennedys should,” writes author Elizabeth Beller in Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.
In episode five of Love Story, viewers see Bessette’s first visit to the compound in Hyannis Port, where she gets a taste of the Kennedy way: political quizzing at the dinner table, breakfast sign-up sheets, and strict rules of decorum (such as how to properly address John’s aunt, Ethel Kennedy). According to J. Randy Taraborrelli’s book The Kennedy Heirs, which was excerpted in People, these details are all based in fact.
In the episode, Bessette meets a number of Kennedy cousins, just as Bessette-Kennedy did in real life at various family events. Among them, in the dinner party scene: Joseph P. Kennedy II, the oldest son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy; his brothers, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy and Bobby (otherwise known as RFK Jr., the current health secretary); and Kara Kennedy, the daughter of Senator Ted Kennedy.
So what is the story behind the compound itself? Read on for a glimpse at the history of the Cape Cod haven where generations of Kennedys have gathered to spend time together, celebrate, and seek comfort in times of grief.
The History of the Kennedy Compound
According to the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, the Kennedy family’s foothold in Hyannis Port began in 1926.
At the time, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., a millionaire businessman (with ventures including banking, stock trading, producing movies, and selling liquor), had been denied membership at a private club in another coastal town, apparently turned away due to the club’s anti-Irish Catholic sentiment. He went looking for another place to play golf and relax, and found the Hyannisport Club on Cape Cod. He and his wife, Rose, were welcomed there and initially rented a summer home in Hyannis Port.
Then, in 1928, Kennedy Sr. bought the home known as “the Malcolm Cottage” for $25,000. As Kennedy’s family bought nearby houses, the compound was formed, and the original house became known as “the Big House” because it is the largest. It is the centerpiece of the compound, containing a movie theater, a sauna, and more. The compound is made up of three houses on six acres of land, overlooking the water.
President John F. Kennedy used the compound as a base for his 1960 presidential campaign, and as his “summer White House,” where he hosted press conferences and political meetings. “I always go to Hyannis Port to be revived, to know again the power of the sea,” JFK once said. The house was passed down to JFK Jr. and his sister, Caroline Kennedy.
The compound has been the site of several high-profile family weddings. Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger held their wedding reception there, with guests including Lady Bird Johnson, Barbara Walters, Andy Warhol (and his plus-one, Grace Jones), Oprah, and Walter Cronkite. In more recent years, celebrities ranging from Bill Murray to Taylor Swift have visited the compound. Today, the Kennedy family still gathers at the compound, as per tradition, to celebrate the Fourth of July.
As Ethel Kennedy says in episode five of Love Story, while Bessette looks at family photos on the mantel: “A lot of history there.”
