Quaint historic hamlet on 25 hectares of land in Connecticut on market for $2.5m

For $US1,900,000 ($2.54 million) you can buy the ghost town of Johnsonville – a quaint historic hamlet sitting on 25 hectares of land in Connecticut.

It has a Victorian-era barn, former bank and post office, general store, church, school, covered bridge and some homes, as well as a view over a lake and waterfall.

It’s just one of several abandoned settlements that have been haunting the market in the USA recently – Cal-Nev-Ari in Nevada, Swett in South Dakota, Hell in Michigan, and Cabin Creek in Colorado, which was put up for sale on Craigslist.

Johnsonville has had its share of attention over the years – it was a filming location for the 2014 movie Freedom, was featured in the National Geographic program Abandoned in 2012, and back in 1993 showed up in the film clip for the Billy Joel song River of Dreams. Not to mention its dedicated fan website, which acts as a digital archive collection.

But the little collection of buildings in East Haddam, about a 50-minute drive from New Haven, isn’t your average ghost town. It was carefully curated.

The settlement was established in 1802, with the Neptune Mill – which made twine and rope for fish nets – being built in 1832. In 1862 the Triton Mill popped, built by Emory Johnson, the eventual namesake of the town and eventual owner of both the mills.

By the 1960s, industry had faded, and the land surrounding the old Neptune Mill was bought by industrialist Raymond Schmitt. He owned an aerospace equipment manufacturer and was described by the New York Times in 1994 as a “controversial self-made millionaire”.

Schmitt had an idea. He collected other Victorian-era buildings, buying them and moving them from other parts of Connecticut, Vermont, and the New England area to create a new tourist attraction in the form of a replica 18th century village.

The town was occasionally hired out for events such as weddings, or opened up to the public.

After a reported argument with town officials Schmitt closed Johnsonville in late 1993. He died in 1998 at age 76, having put three associates – his banker, lawyer, and his long-term secretary – in charge of his estate.

They sold off his properties, including Johnsonville, which was then picked up by hotel company Meyer Jabara Hotels for $US2.5 million.

They also had a plan – which also didn’t quite pan out. The company had intended to use the site for a mixed-use development, but local zoning rules proved a hinderance.

So in 2014 the town was auctioned online. It sold for $US1.9 million, but the buyer was unable to complete the sale and it returned to the market in 2015 with an asking price of $US2.4 million.

Now, William Raveis Luxury Properties has the listing. Sherri Milkie, the agent selling the town, hopes to see it resettled having already had interest from a local brewery and Wiccans looking for a new place of worship.