Listing of the Day
Location: Essex, Connecticut
Price: $2.1 million
By the 1930s, the Connecticut firm known as E.E. Dickinson & Co. supplied most of the witch hazel used in the United States by households, barbershops and cosmetic companies.
Witch hazel shrubs and trees grow abundantly in this part of the Northeast, and a nearby factory mixed pulverized parts of the plants with alcohol to create the popular astringent cleanser and rubbing lotion sold by E.E. Dickinson.
For several decades, members of the Dickinson family, including Edward Everett Dickinson himself for most of his life, lived in a stately 1870 mansion in Essex, Connecticut.
Known as the Dickinson Mansion, the grand Greek Revival-style home with 12 columns has been carefully and completely restored and renovated by its current owners.
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"If you like that kind of period, you won’t find anything more original," said Colette Harron, the listing agent with William Pitt Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. "The house was built with such quality—it’s a classic."
"The house has 10 fireplaces, and every fireplace is different," she said, mentioning variations of stone and marble facing and hand-carved mantels.
Other original features include a handsome slate roof, herringbone-pattern oak floors, European cherry bookshelves, hand-carved chair rails, and detailed plaster moldings.
The living room, with two fireplaces and a tray ceiling, and the library flank the entry foyer, which has wallpaper in an original William Morris design.
"The kitchen has been updated quite a bit, but they kept the stove, which is incredible and restored to perfection," Ms. Harron said.
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The massive cobalt blue Bramhall Deane Co. stove from the 1920s has a double oven and seven burners, three of which are gas powered and four are electric. In the walk-in pantry, the current owners also electrified the turn-of-the-century ice box to use as their refrigerator.
On the second floor, the 21-by-14-foot master suite has an adjoining sleeping porch, two fireplaces, and a dressing room with a walk-in closet. The lavish black and white marble master bath has twin basins, a soaking tub and a rain shower.
"It’s a beautiful house," she said. "It’s not for everyone, but it’s such a gorgeous house."
The Stats
The 14-room, 8,000-square-foot house has six bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half bath. It sits on 0.62 acres.
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Amenities
Amenities include a full basement, security system, generator, wine cellar and workshop. A widow’s walk atop the house offers long views of the Connecticut River and year-round sunrises.
A pub room was added in the 1940s, with a billiards table, coffered ceiling and wood-burning fireplace. Adjacent is the state-of-the-art screening room and home theater.
Plus, "the current owners added a garage and it really goes well with the architecture of the house," Ms. Harron said. "The grounds are very formal, with a formal garden."
Neighborhood Notes
"The house is right in town—you’re almost on the water," Ms. Harron said. "Essex is a yachting town."
Incorporated in 1639, the town of Essex consists of three villages: Essex, Centerbrook and Ivoryton. It features scenic views, historic architecture, gracious tree-lined streets, eclectic shops, marinas, good restaurants and lots of history. With three yacht clubs and numerous marinas, Essex allows boaters to dock their boats and walk into town.
The town is known in part for the variety of parades it hosts each year, including one on Groundhog Day and the Burning of the Ships Parade, which commemorates an 1814 British raid that left dozens of ships ablaze in the harbor.
Agent: Colette Harron, William Pitt Julia B Fee Sotheby’s International Realty
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