Late Supreme Court Justice David Souter’s Hopkinton home hits market with personal book collection

The Hopkinton home where former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter spent his final years is up for sale, along with a curated collection of books from his personal library.

The 2,868-square-foot Cape Cod-style house sits on Hopkins Green Road in Hopkinton. Souter bought the property in 2009 after stepping down as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Barbara Ruedig, a broker with Ruedig Realty, said she was “flattered” to be approached for the sale of the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home, which is listed at $1 million. She said all the proceeds from the sale will go to charity.

“It is Justice Souter’s wish that proceeds will benefit several needy local charities,” Ruedig said. “This is a quality property.”

Built in 1987, the home bears unmistakable signs of Souter’s love for reading. Custom floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line the living room walls, a feature he had installed to house his sprawling book collection.

Reudig said the weight of his collection was so substantial that engineers were brought in to reinforce the flooring beneath it.

The books themselves are a draw in their own right. 

Many date back to Souter’s years of study at Harvard University, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees, and at Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. 

Some volumes bear his original signature. 

Among the titles pictured in the listing is The Supreme Court in United States History by Charles Warren, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1923.

Despite the home’s history and its one-of-a-kind literary contents, Ruedig said the buyers showing the most interest are not collectors or history buffs, just everyday home buyers drawn to a well-built house in a picturesque neighborhood.

Souter passed away last year on May 8 at the age of 85.