The home of a general who changed Rockland is for sale

The summer home of a famous Maine general is for sale for $660,000 in Rockland, the town he transformed at great risk.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house is the “finest Gothic Revival cottage in Knox County” and the only significant example of that architectural style in Rockland, according to the National Register of Historic Places, which added both the house and its barn in 1983.

The house was built around 1853 for Davis Tillson, a local businessman and one of Maine’s highest-ranking generals in the Civil War. He notably built Tillson’s Wharf, which cost him $200,000, according to an online biography. That sum would be equivalent to millions today, but the risk paid off and was a great success.

“He did a lot for this town,” said Cheryl Oliveri Daly, the estate’s realtor. “(His house) is kind of a landmark in the town because it’s so unique.”

The sellers she represents bought Tillson’s house in the 1980s when it was in “poor condition,” said Oliveri Daly, a broker with Camden Real Estate Company. They restored the historic home while retaining some of its original features, including the fireplaces, wide pine floors and even the staircase. The brick facade and slate roof are also original, including delicate white trim that gives the home a “gingerbread house” look, the broker said.

Standout features of the 2,600-square-foot home include its large historic barn, its floor-to-ceiling windows in the front parlors and its location. The home has a large backyard with fruit trees and raspberry bushes, and its 7-acre lot is just a few blocks from downtown Rockland.

“Rockland is hip, there’s a lot going on here,” the agent said. “The downtown area is vibrant, which is great. There are no empty stores and it’s a year-round community.”

The house has been on the market for several months and was shown last summer, but it is attracting a lot of interest, Oliveri Daly said. Potential buyers range in age from young people in their early 30s looking for a permanent home to older couples looking to retire or live somewhere temporary.

But Oliveri Daly said what almost all of them have in common is that they are not from Maine. That’s become commonplace in the Rockland real estate market, which has been running hot in recent years. Demand for very few homes has caused typical home values to double since the start of 2019 and now sit just above $353,000, according to Zillow.

“A lot of people from other states want to come here to experience a different quality of life – San Francisco, Texas, I showed it to a young couple from Rhode Island,” she said of the potential buyers. “Only one or two from Maine.”

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