For $5.5 million, you can buy a village of sorts.
In Pittston, Maine, a small town near Augusta, one man's decades-long project to preserve old homes, which turned into a 55-acre compound, is up for sale.
Tuthill is the brainchild of Kenneth Tuttle, an antiques dealer who decided to begin building a village of 19th and 20th century homes and structures in 1967.
Over the following 20 years, the complex grew to 25 structures in total, including a church, barns, garages, roads and multiple homes.
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Three of them were moved from towns as far as eight miles away.
After Tuttle died, his son, Nathan, inherited and took over the property, which now has eight tenants living on it.
Nathan; his wife, Anna Boucher; and their son also live there in what they call "the main house," but, according to Boucher, the family is ready for a new home, "to focus on our family and have a bit of a simpler life."
"We bought some land up the road," said Boucher during an interview Wednesday.
Boucher, who is also the realtor working on selling the property, explained that her husband had spent 20 years overseeing Tuthill and the responsibilities that come with it. The family is ready for a change and having to be in charge of just one house.
On top of that, Maine home values have spiked during the pandemic.
"The Maine real estate market over the past two years has skyrocketed. If there's a chance of someone purchasing this property, now's the time to market it," Boucher said.
As for what the village becomes under a new owner, it's difficult to say.
Boucher believes that a person or entity could turn Tuthill into a corporate retreat, an events venue or leave it as it is. She also said she has spoken with a number of people interested in the property, including prospective buyers, many of whom have asked her about splitting the complex up.
"We keep getting the question, will you subdivide?" Boucher said.
They've ruled that out: "It took so many years and was such a labor of love for [Nathan's] dad, we have no intention of piecemealing the property off."
However, Boucher added that a new owner could, in theory, split the properties up if they so choose.
As for the condition of the homes and buildings, Boucher said they have been updated with modern fixtures and are very well cared for inside and out by a groundskeeper who works at the property five days a week.
The only building that needs a bit of a fix is the church -- "the steeple needs some repair," said Boucher.
As for the best thing about the property, Boucher said that was "the history behind it," while "the worst thing" is "people thinking it's public property and just setting up a picnic on the lawn."
"That gets a little strange," she said.
