Locals sometimes refer to the half-acre island just off the shore of Greenwich, Connecticut, as Gardner's Island. Then again, some people know it as Niesen's Island or Ritch Island.
Either way, the island, shored up with soil excavated for the New York City subway system and the 2,800-square-foot home atop it, is on the market for $6.5 million and awaiting a new owner — and perhaps a new name.
"Anyone who buys it can name it whatever they want," the listing agent for 0 Rich Island, Margriet McGowan, said in an interview.
The home has six bedrooms and four bathrooms, all with windows overlooking Long Island Sound, said McGowan, of Sotheby's International Realty.
"There isn’t a room in the house where you don't have a view of the water," she said. "Even the bathrooms have views of the water. You sort of feel like you're outside even when you're inside."
Outside, the property features a wraparound porch, gazebo and two Boston Whaler boats for getting to Greenwich's marina. The boats come with the purchase of the house.
All told, Rich Island is "unassuming from the shoreline" then instantly becomes an incredible property once you boat across and walk through the home, McGowan said.
"You feel like you're on the coast of Maine when you're at this place," she said. "You can't believe that it exists and it's two minutes from the shore in Greenwich."
'Sitting on the porch became our TV watching'
Rich Island's owners are an older couple who raised their children in the home but are now looking to sell after having it for 45 years, McGowan said. These days, they live there between April and November but also have an apartment in New York City, she said.
In a statement, the owners said they've made many family memories in the house, but one spot in particular is special to their hearts.
"The front porch is what sold the house to us 45 years ago," the owners said. "Sitting on the porch with the view of the water and Long Island Sound was magical — watching marine life go by of boaters, fish, birds and waves. Sitting on the porch became our TV watching."
Greenwich is a coastal community that became popular in the 1980s when wealthy New Yorkers flocked there for summer vacations. Colonial Revivals, Cape Cods and cottages with yards featuring white picket fences are mainstays here. Colonial Revivals and Cape Cods run between $2 million and $4 million, while estate properties typically cost between $14 million and $32 million.
What's in a name? Ask the owner.
Rich Island has had many names because they refer to the land's owner at a certain point in history. The first person to call the island home was a ship captain from Nova Scotia named Blanchard Gardner. The captain was sailing a yacht across Connecticut for a client and spotted it. The client, Frank J. Gould, persuaded Gardner to buy the island, according to an account Gardner's grandson told McGowan.
At the time, the island had belonged to William and Thomas Ritch, two brothers who, in 1840, opened a quarry on land that's now Bryam Park — hence the name Ritch Island.
Gardner moved to the island in 1910 and lived there until he died in 1940 at age 79. He passed the house down to his son, Jim, who sold it to Gertrude Niesen sometime in the 1940s. She was a prominent Broadway actress and comedian from the 1930s and 1940s who renamed the land after herself.
Subway tunnel dirt helps stabilize and expand the property
Rich Island, a natural formation, used to be smaller. At some point in its existence, a construction crew hauled material excavated for the New York City subway system to Greenwich to help bolster the island's foundation. The material helped stabilize the island, McGowan said, allowing the owners at the time to expand the house.
One of the current owners' favorite memories happened on a winter morning when the sound froze, preventing them from taking their boat across.
"We used oars to break up the ice and rocked the boat back and forth to navigate a few inches forward," the owners said in a statement. "It took us hours to get across to shore when a normal time would be about a minute. We laughed and felt accomplished that morning even though we were very late for work."
Aside from frozen water, the home is not without its drawbacks.
The property is truly on an island, meaning it cannot be accessed by driving or walking. Greenwich will not let the owners build any structure that connects the island to the town's docks.
Anyone who purchases the property using a mortgage will also need flood insurance, McGowan said.
She added that the home is very sturdy and has survived major weather events, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.