A six-bedroom Georgian-style carriage house now on the market in Southold comes with a notable piece of local history.
Set on 1.1 acres of secluded perennial gardens, the $1.6 million property once comprised a section of Eastward, one of the North Fork’s first estates.
“It has quite an interesting story,” said Douglas Elliman real estate agent Victoria Germaise, who holds the listing with Thomas McCloskey.
Built in 1920, the 6,000-square-foot house, which has five-and-a-half baths, is located on Mount Beulah Avenue and was originally developed as a caretaker’s quarters, stable and dairy barn.
“It’s just dreamy,” Germaise said. “It’s sprawling, with surprises everyplace you turn. It certainly seems grand today. When you walk in through the front gates the grounds are beautiful; there’s two wings and large rooms and high ceilings. It is kind of astonishing to think that this was an outer building to that great estate.”
Eastward was built by Alfred Cosden, a so-called self-made millionaire whose thoroughbred colt Vito won the Belmont Stakes in 1928. Mr. Cosden resided at the estate, which overlooked Long Island Sound, until 1940, when the Southold Town Board initiated a tax increase targeting wealthy homeowners, Germaise said. An angry Mr. Cosden demolished his primary residence, but the property’s brick cottages, stables and barns were sold and ultimately transformed into private residences.
Surrounded by a traditional English-style courtyard, 21st-century guests are greeted by the home’s light-filled living room. The centrally located space is equipped with a large carved wood and marble fireplace, along with tray ceilings that peak at 14 feet.
“The main living room is just spectacular,” Germaise said. “It’s got the tray ceilings that are just very grand and the floors are just beautiful herringbone. There’s the huge fireplace and windows everywhere.”
A newly constructed gunite pool accompanies the brick and slate mansion, which also features a formal dining room, converted indoor horse stalls and a stable-garage complex that Germaise said “makes for an ideal artist’s studio or car collection.”
“There is a hallway upstairs that has a window seat you can sit down at and look at the grounds,” she said. “It’s a cozy little nook. There’s all these little surprises in the house.”
$1,600,000
1750 Mount Beulah Ave, Southol
6 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms
Douglas Elliman Real Estate
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