Though it is known on charts and maps as House Island, the 24-acre island off the coast of Portland, Maine is better known to local residents as the site of a fort that dates back to the War of 1812. The only fort in Portland Harbor to be fired upon in that conflict, it was set to be dismantled in the 1950s—with the granite blocks to be used to reinforce a breakwater—before Hilda Dudley swooped in to purchase the island in its entirety. Now her son, Harold Cushing Jr., is looking to sell the island for $4.85M. There are several reasons why the 62-year-old Cushing may have tired of living on the island: electricity is provided by generator, heating is by wood-burning fireplace, wells and rainwater are the only sources of water. Despite the lack of city services, the annual taxes on the island are $35,000.
· House Island [LandVest]
· What does $4.8 million get you? Your own island in Portland Harbor [Portland Press Herald]
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