Once occupied by a French general coming to the aid of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, the Colonial Revival at 173 Highwoods Drive in Guilford has hit the market for $2,395,000.
The house, estimated to have been originally built in 1660 in East Hartford, was owned by Squire Elisha Pitkin, a justice, a representative in the Connecticut General Assembly and a relative of Colonial-era Connecticut Governor William Pitkin, according to the Guilford Preservation Alliance. In 1780, when French troops came to assist the Continental Army as they fought against the British in the Revolutionary War, Elisha Pitkin allowed French general, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, to take up residence in the house, according to the Historical Society of East Hartford. His army stayed within other public and private areas in East Hartford. The house’s historical significance earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
While stationed in East Hartford, Rochambeau would make trips to Wethersfield, where he would meet with Colonial General (and future American president) George Washington to plan routes for their armies to take during the war, according to the New England Historical Society. One of the strategies the two military leaders planned in Wethersfield resulted in the Continental Army’s victory at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, which played a significant role in ending the war, according to the town of Wethersfield. Rochambeau’s army once again camped in East Hartford in 1782, before they went to Boston and sailed home, the Historical Society of East Hartford added.
In the years following the Revolutionary War, the house fell into disrepair and while there were efforts to restore it in the 1940s, they failed because of high costs, according to the Guilford Preservation Alliance. In 1952, Edward H. Pitkin, one of Elisha Pitkin’s descendants, purchased the house for $1 from the Town of East Hartford and had it moved to Guilford to be restored. The 17th-century house, which now has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and four half bathrooms, was taken apart board by board and reassembled, according to its listing. Among its rooms are a solarium, a garden room, a kitchen with a breakfast nook, a living room and a family room.
Despite receiving multiple renovations over the centuries, the 5,414-square-foot house still keeps some of its antique features, such as hemlock floors in the dining room, which date back to 1754. Some of the walls of the house are decorated with trompe-l’œil (a style of art meant to give the illusion that it is three-dimensional) wallpaper that features flowers, butterflies and birds. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow natural light to shine through the house. French doors led residents to the 3,93-acre property’s outdoor area, which has bluestone patios, a pond, a garden courtyard, a pool and a tennis court.
According to the real estate tracking firm Redfin, the median sale price for properties in the 06437 ZIP code was $580,000 in June. Redfin calculated that, on average, properties in the area sell for about three percent above the list price and are off the market in about 39 days, while the hottest properties sell for about ten percent above the list price and are on the market for about 12 days.
The property is listed by William Raveis Real Estate’s Kiara Rusconi, who can be reached at 860-573-3382.
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