A Port Washington home linked to New York banker J.P. Morgan Jr. is on the market at $1.695 million.
The current owners, David and Robin Sigman, were clued in to the home’s historical owner, Morgan’s private secretary John Axten, from a card left by the homeowners before them, Robin Sigman said.
The card, covered in plastic wrap with a corner torn off and sitting on the Sigmans’ fireplace mantle, states that the home was owned by Axten from 1910 to 1960. It allowed him to be close to his boss, who was in Glen Cove at the time.
Axten began working for the financier at the age of 19 and continued for 40 years until Morgan died in 1943, says Ron Chernow’s book “The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and The Rise of Modern Finance.”
Morgan even left his secretary $50,000 in his will, according to a 1943 issue of the military newspaper The White Falcon, published shortly after Morgan’s death.
The house at 48 Reid Ave. is the intersection of traditional and modern, having been built in 1905 and restored periodically since then, its listing says.
Robin Sigman said she loves her home for its “old and charming” exterior architecture that is filled with modern comforts like central air conditioning and an updated kitchen.
The tall hedges at the front of the house “give the front yard the feeling of a backyard” and its “terrific front porch” is a great space for parties, she said.
Sitting on a third of an acre, the 3,000-square-foot Dutch colonial has five bedrooms, 3.5 baths and four fireplaces. Its listing highlights the home’s high ceilings and short walk from the train.
Maggie Keats, of Douglas Elliman, is the listing agent for the property.
