A riverfront property that was once home to Baron Jean-Vincent d’Abbadie de Saint-Castin, after whom the town of Castine is named, is for sale for nearly $6 million.
On the site where Saint-Castin’s 17th century settlement of 160 people once stood, the 40-acre property now includes a main residence — a farmhouse with a wraparound porch and a two-car garage — as well as a guest cottage and outbuildings.
The two-bedroom, five-bathroom home sits on Wescott Battery, a road that leads to the coast of the Bagaduce River. With nearly 8,200 square feet of space, the home has an asking price of $5.97 million.
The estate in Castine has roughly 915 feet of river frontage, as well as a dock with a ramp and float, according to the property listing. The property is accessed by a long driveway that passes open fields with small ponds, mature trees and an apple orchard, according to the listing.
The listing said the site “contains the remnants of the historic habitat of Castine’s namesake,” but Jules Thomson, collections manager for the Castine Historical Society, said she’s not aware of any “above-surface ruins” on the property.
The property was the subject of major archeological excavations. The most recent, from 1990 to 1993, plotted the layout of Saint-Castin’s 17th century settlement of 160 people in 32 wigwams — dome-shaped structures used by some Native American tribes.
The excavations revealed that the site once held included Castin’s personal dwelling, evidenced by a bread oven and a truck house and workshop area, according to Thomson. Researchers also found postholes, which proved many wigwams were once stationed there.
The site was listed as a National Historic Landmark in August 1994 after the excavations, Thomson said.
The settlement stood at what was then the highly contested border of New England and French Acadia. French-born Saint-Castin, who married an Indigenous woman and was adopted into her tribe, traded with both the British and the French, and representatives from both nations accused him of fraternizing with their enemies, Thomson said.
Thomson noted that when Castine was incorporated in 1796, most of the inhabitants were ethnically British people from Massachusetts.
“So it’s interesting that they chose to commemorate a Frenchman despite being historical enemies,” Thomson said. “His memory has always loomed large here.”
Joseph Sortwell of LandVest, the listing agent for the home, did not return requests for comment.
