195 Old South Road in Southport, CT: An Artifact of Southport’s Maritime Wealth

195 Old South Road, Southport
Built 1829 | 4,254 Sq. Ft. | 1.25 Acres

In 1829, Southport was not looking toward Manhattan; it was looking out to sea. Before the New Haven Railroad turned Fairfield County into a commuter enclave, Southport was a gritty, highly profitable maritime port. Its primary export was the Southport Globe Onion, packed onto locally built sloops and shipped down the coast.

The house at 195 Old South Road is a physical byproduct of that specific, localized wealth. Built as the village transitioned from a working seaport to a hub for wealthy ship owners, the architecture marks a deliberate shift in American taste. Moving away from the austere, functional colonials of the 1700s, the builders adopted the Greek Revival style, a statement of established, democratic permanence following the War of 1812.

At over 4,200 square feet, the scale of the timber framing alone indicates serious capital. 19th-century carpenters constructed a sweeping curved staircase in the front hall and installed nine-foot ceilings—an expensive luxury in an era when high ceilings meant more cubic volume to heat with wood fires. The survival of four original fireplaces throughout the floor plan is a record of how the home’s early inhabitants survived coastal New England winters before central heating.

Perhaps the most significant artifact is the lot itself. While most of the village was tightly subdivided as land values spiked in the 20th century, this property retained a 1.25-acre parcel. The two-story timber barn out back isn’t a modern garage; it is a surviving piece of 19th-century agricultural infrastructure sitting just blocks from the Metro-North station. It is a house built for an agrarian, maritime economy that somehow survived the suburbanization of Fairfield County entirely intact.

Listing information is from SmartMLS and was checked on October 9, 2026. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Equal Housing Opportunity.

View the full listing →Listed by Higgins Group Real Estate