By Gretchen A. Peck

The wraparound front porch at 273 High Street in Mystic beckons. It’s a charming architectural detail, a perch to enjoy a cool beverage on a hot summer day, a place for a rocking chair and the Sunday paper. The antique three-bedroom house sits high, behind terraced stone walls, overlooking the neighborhood street. The owners have newly listed it for sale; they’re asking $1.075 million for the property.

Ann Bergendahl and Erika Rossetto, brokers with Willow Properties in Mystic, are the seller’s Realtors.

The property is part of the Mystic River historic district, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In the application, the house is described as a “Greek Revival, three-bay house behind two levels of stone retaining walls. A turn-of-the-century verandah has been added to the front and south side.”

The house was built in 1836 by James C. Lamb, a clergyman. Later, it was owned by Captain Joseph Fred Tribble, who came from a seafaring family.

The current owners bought the property five years ago. Avid boaters, they appreciated the proximity to the water and to the local marina, they explained to Welcome Home.

“We’ve made quite a few improvements,” the owner said. “It’s a completely different house now.”

The front entrance opens to a foyer, with a powder room cleverly tucked away under the main staircase. The dining room sits to the left, and straight ahead, moving toward the rear of the home are the living room and kitchen, with access out to a 21-by-18-foot patio.

“We created a completely new kitchen and opened up the kitchen to the living room by knocking down some walls and putting up some support beams. It’s totally renovated,” the co-owner said.

To ensure that there were views from the kitchen out to the pool, they added windows to the space. “We like to entertain, so we needed to have an open floor plan to accommodate everybody, and it just changed the whole character.”

As is often the case when an antique home is lovingly renovated and restored, there are reminders of the home’s past.

“We found some old shoes inside one of the walls when we opened it up. … We believe they were from the 1800s, and there was a man’s shoe, a woman’s smaller shoe, and then a child-like cowboy boot,” the owner said.

There are some original interior details intact, including the fireplace mantels, wide-plank pine floors and the woodwork in the dining room.

On the second floor, there are two bedrooms, including a primary suite, with a private bath, a fireplace and private study/office. They were able to incorporate a washer and dryer into the suite, so it’s convenient to both bedrooms and two baths on the second story.

The couple also wanted to leverage the former attic space for additional sleeping quarters, so they gutted and renovated the attic, adding that bonus space. It’s counted as a single bedroom; however, the layout and dimensions accommodate two beds, separated by the central chimney.

Should the buyer not need the additional bedroom space, it could instead be used as a home office.

In addition to all the interior redesign work, they also updated the electrical and plumbing systems.

“We had the house painted with Rhino Shield. That’s especially important down here [by the water], where people find they have to paint their houses every seven to 10 years,” the seller explained.

The couple also installed a new driveway, walkways around the house and landscape lighting. They noted that the saltwater pool is the easiest-to-maintain pool they’ve ever had.

“It’s very private. With tall trees all around, you’re not even aware that you have neighbors. And the neighbors in the immediate circle around us are all lovely. We’ve had get-togethers. It’s a very social environment,” the seller said.

“We held our daughter’s wedding in the backyard,” the owner added.

In addition to the house, there’s a detached one-car garage on the 0.51-acre lot.

The in-town location places the next residents within easy reach of marinas, renowned restaurants, beaches, boutique shopping, historic destinations and the region’s largest employers.

“We’re just two blocks from the center of town. Everything is within walking distance. … When we were looking for this home, we were very specific about wanting to walk to town,” the seller recalled. “And then when we found this home, walked up the driveway and saw the pool and fire pit, we knew this was the one before we even went inside.”

Property: 273 High St., Mystic

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 3

Square Footage: 1,992

Acreage: 0.51

Asking Price: $1.075 million

Seller’s Agents: Ann Bergendahl and Erika Rossetto, Willow Properties; Bergendahl’s Mobile: (860) 460-3909; Rossetto’s Mobile: (480) 296-9861; ann@willowprop.com; erika@willowprop.com