Tag Archives: 42 Compo Cove

One of Westport’s most beloved — and most photographed, and most painted — properties is on the market.

The gray house on Compo Cove — the first one we see from Old Mill Beach and Hillspoint Road, gazing toward the Nantucket-like, no-cars-allowed enclave east of Sherwood Mill Pond — has just been listed.

44 Compo Cove (Photo/Patricia McMahon)

It’s a historic gem. Built in 1917, the “Coleburn house” has withstood more than a century of storms with its original framing and fireplace still intact. The first floor has never been flooded.

44 Compo Cove (right). The “pirate shack” cottage at #42 (left) is also part of the sale.

The kitchen and bathrooms have been modernized, but the interior is true to its original construction. 

One of 4 bedrooms at 44 Compo Cove.

#44 is the oldest of the 19 homes on the Cove, a peninsula accessible only by footbridge from Old Mill (or in an emergency, through the west end of Sherwood Island State Park). The Mill Cove is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation CT calls 44 Compo Cove one of the “most typical and best preserved” bungalows in the state.

#44 is a classic beach house: 4 bedrooms, wooden interior, wraparound porch, and 125 feet of private sand.

The wide porch at #44.

The cottage next door, built in 2008 by Michael Greenberg at #42, is part of the sale. With a huge deck, it too offers stunning views in all directions.

The “pirate shack” cottage at 42 Compo Cove is part of the sale.

The price for both properties, on 1.96 acres, is $7.9 million. The seller hopes for a preservation-minded buyer.

44 Compo Cove, in winter (Photo/Betsy P. Kahn)

But #44 and 42 are not the only properties for sale on Compo Cove.

Next door, #48 is on the market too.

It’s a .41-acre lot, available as land only for $2.8 million, or — for $7 million — as a new home designed by Michael Greenberg.

Aerial view of Compo Cove. #44 is at right; #42 is in the center (white). Also for sale, in another transaction: #48 (the now empty lot just above #42, on the water).

Compo Cove is timeless. Its footpath dates back more than a century. Wildlife has been there far longer.

It’s also ever-changing. Each season — every day, really — brings new views.

Every Westporter — whether they’ve visited the Cove, or admired it from afar — feels attached to that small spit of land. We’re all invested in who next will actually invest in those properties.