An 18th-century antique home in Wolcott, CT, with ties to a famous clockmaker and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra just hit the market for $1.5 million.
Listed for the first time in decades, the 1.94-acre property known as Spindle Hill includes a 5,360-square-foot primary residence, a hand-hewn barn, a manor home, an a history of treasure-filled walls.
“When you walk into the original section of the home, you feel the history,” says listing agent Donna Membrino of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty. “The keeping room has an original beehive oven and a wooden mantel.”
The property’s origins date to the early 1700s, when the land was purchased by the town’s first settler, the patriarch of the Alcott family, according to Membrino. Nathaniel Lane and Millicent Alcott Lane, the uncle and aunt of “Little Women” author Louisa May Alcott, later developed it into a working farm that stayed in the Lane family for generations.
The property is also linked to famed clockmaker Seth Thomas, who launched his first clockmaking venture from his childhood home just down the road.
“It was very important to the seller to preserve the home’s history, and they have taken great pains to do that,” Membrino says.
Marlene Tosun, who grew up on Spindle Hill Farm, became the owner of the property in the 1950s.
After moving in, she uncovered a series of hidden treasures: a violin beneath the floorboards of the main house; Nathaniel Lane’s diary, containing his handwritten business accounts, tucked behind a wall; and tomahawk heads embedded in the estate’s original hand-stacked stone walls, which are believed to have been built by Native Americans.
Membrino said the family also discovered a pair of 1700s wheels from Lane’s ox-drawn wagon, which was used to deliver goods to early New England customers.
The seller, Marlene’s daughter Sylvia Tosun, was once the lead vocalist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. She also featured on an international EDM hit championed by DJ Armin van Buuren.
In a meticulous restoration, Tosun set out to preserve the property’s original charm and character while bringing it up to modern luxury standards.
Original weathered wood salvaged from older, dismantled sections of the house was used to detail the Grand Salon. Other highlights include a black-and-white marble foyer, a 50-foot turret with an antique Schonbek chandelier, double-height cathedral ceilings, reclaimed wide-plank heart pine floors, a handcarved Italian marble chimneypiece, and three wood-burning fireplaces.
A modernized kitchen with Shaker cabinetry and granite countertops flows into a sunny dining room. Upstairs, the primary suite has a private terrace. The walk-out garden level features a wet bar and a “grand fireplace lounge” that serves as a professional recording studio.
“I think the next buyer will be someone who appreciates a home with great character and doesn’t want a cookie-cutter house,” Membrino says. “It could be someone who wants a weekend retreat or a full-time residence.”
The property also offers twin gazebos, a sunken patio, fruit trees and vegetable gardens, as well as “rare legal multi-family zoning” that allows for three private dwellings.
“Wolcott is a great town,” Membrino adds. “It’s close to Waterbury and Hartford but has more of a country feel, and it’s centrally located between New York and Boston.”
Buyers should note that “the antique barn is being sold in as-is condition,” according to the listing.
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Kellie Speed is a contributor to Realtor.com. As a writer and editor, she has worked for a variety of online and print publications, including Inked magazine, Jetset, Westchester magazine, JustLuxe, The Boston Globe, and U.S. Veterans Magazine. A Massachusetts native, Kellie attended Northeastern University for journalism, was previously the Boston editor for Haute Living, and contributed to Avalon Publishing’s Moon Metro Boston guidebook. Kellie writes celebrity profiles and covers restaurants, travel, and lifestyle.
