How would you like to own a dozen Victorian houses, a church, a general store, a mill, a pond with waterfalls and a dam? In short, how would you like to own a little village of your own?
Auction.com is giving you an opportunity to do just that. A former mill village called Johnsonville - located just 30 minutes away from Hartford, Conn. - is all set to go up for auction October 28, 2014. Bids start at $800,000 with a $10,000 deposit.
The 8-parcel, 62-acre village was mill town, which began operating in the 19th century. The town was built around the Moodus River. As the twine hub slowly lost its luster, eventually in 1972, an aerospace engineer Raymond Schmitt purchased the town, The Daily Mail reports.
According to the Curbed, Schmitt shipped several Victorian houses on the lot and even got a chapel and stable from Massachusetts to complete the venue. He apparently wanted to turn the place into a theme park. He even purchased a paddleboat from the world fair to ferry people around the property on the river.
However, things went down the drain after lightening struck the mill in 1972, and soon after he also got into a fight with the local administration that shut down the entire town. Schmitt passed away in 1998 and since then, the property lay deserted.
A developer reportedly purchased the place in 2008, but never really built anything or used the space. Perhaps that had something to do with the spook factor.
Johnsonville is supposedly a haunted town now and rumors have it that spirits of the residents as well as Schmitt roam the town. Because Schmitt died before he could realize his dream of turning the town into a theme park, his ghost still lurks around to protect his beloved village.
But realtor Jim Kelly of brokerage firm RM Bradley and Auction.com are planning on using the spook factor to their advantage. They hope on attracting quite a few eyeballs and bidders by putting it up for auction during the Halloween week.
"The whole 'haunted or not' discussion kind of takes things to another level altogether, especially at this time of year. But potential buyers can rest assured that there will be no extra charges for any ghosts who may be attached to the property," Rick Sharga, executive vice president of Auction.com, told Housing Wire adding that it was a rare opportunity that a property of such historic value was going up for sale.
"The Village of Johnsonville is considered a special purpose property, given the uniqueness and nature of it," realtor Jim Kelly added.
"Whether the draw is the historical roots, the potential for the land's usage, or just the eeriness of the stories associated with it, this property is drawing a considerable amount of attention from a large field of potential investors."
Take a virtual tour of Johnsonville in the video below:
