Hope Island in Maine, built to be its own town, on the market for $10.4 million

In the early 2000s, a US property developer and his wife tried to set up their own town – with a population of two – on the island they had bought.

Hope Island was officially part of nearby Chebeague Island in Maine, but owner John Cacoulidis and his late wife Phyllis weren’t impressed with the property taxes.

Facing a bill of more than $US75,000 ($98,000) a year, they tried to secede from the Cumberland County in 2001.

The couple, who lived at the island part-time until Phyllis’ death in 2016, had built a three-bedroom, six-bathroom, 1068-square-metre house on the island in 2000. 

They also added guest houses, barns, a great hall, a chapel and a tavern, a pier and boathouse, and freshwater well – enough for a whole town.

According to an LA Times article published in December 2001, they wanted to break free of their civic restrictions and instead form  “The Town of Hope Island”.

The taxes the couple were paying had quintupled over eight years, and two other Maine islands – Long Island and Frye Island – had also successfully seceded not that long before.

“We’re not against taxes, but if they tax me and give me zero services, that’s my beef,” Mr Cacoulidis told the newspaper at the time.

The separation process involved holding an election of the island’s registered voters – in this case, there was just one, Phyllis – and then the matter being put to Maine Legislature. It was ultimately unsuccessful.

And now for $US7,950,000 ($10.44 million) you can buy Hope Island, with its 34 hectares in Casco Bay. About 25 minutes by boat from Portland, it’s for sale through Christie’s International.

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The secession attempt wasn’t the end of the island making local headlines – a few years later, Cumberland residents complained that “a large Bush/Cheney campaign sign displayed on the island boathouse violated Cumberland ordinances”.

And there was a year-long argument with Chebeague Island over the lack of permits for Mr Cacoulidis’ many building works. According to Chebeague Island Town Administrator Marjorie Stratton, all disputes had been resolved by 2015.

Now that the Cacoulidis family don’t use their private island – and town – as much as they’ve used to, it’s up for grabs. John Saint-Amour of Christie’s International thought a “family or extended family that wants the privacy of an entire island will buy it as sort of an island retreat”.

​It’s not the only island in Maine that Christies has on the books either – there’s White Island with 24 hectares and a guesthouse for sale for $US1,675,000, and Little Freese Island, which is 2.8 hectares with a three-bedroom house, and priced at $US795,000.