Penobscot, ME (Hancock County)

The Way Life Should Be! The Fourth Generation Staples Farm is on the market for the first time since the 1850’s. Located in the Village of South Penobscot, just minutes from Blue Hill & Castine, this 105 acre working farm comes complete with c. 1800 original 3 bedroom 2 bath farm house with newer custom kitchen, 2 bed 1 bath guest house, c. 1800 original 4-story post & beam barn, a 24’x60’ barn built in 1996, an historic detached 2-story garage and historic shop building. The farmhouse was purchased by the current owner’s great-grandfather. There is an old photo available that shows the great-grandparents standing outside the home in c.1850. In 2006 a 25’x25’ custom kitchen was built where the old ell section of the home existed. The kitchen has granite counter tops & granite window sills, 18” tile floor with radiant heat, custom made cabinetry with reeded glass doors, nickel drawer pulls & knobs, gas range, Bosch DW, large fridge, large deep farm house sink, bi-level kitchen island with power, walk in pantry, mud room with storage area below stairs to second floor great room, double French glass doors, several windows overlooking the fields, and wood box for a 1933 Star Kineo wood stove flanked by brick wall & chimney. The stove has been re-built by Bryant Stove works of Bangor.

The living room is L-shaped with original wood floors, sheetrock and pine walls, several double hung windows new in 2006 and large picture window. Dimensions are 23’x12’ and 12’x12’. Off the living room is a 9’x10’ bathroom with 4’ shower, pine ceiling, cedar accent wall and built-in stacked washer dryer.

The 8’x12’ front entry has Andersen oval glass door with 2 side panel light windows, original tin ceilings & staircase and area for coats. Off the front entry way is the first floor 13’x13’ bedroom with 2 closets, original wood floors and well insulated for noise protection.

The original staircase leads to the 2nd floor 12’x9’ & 11’x6’ foyer complete with original wide board floors, tin ceilings, and built-in bookshelves. Off the foyer are two bedrooms, great room, and bathroom. The bathroom is 9’x9’ with original wood floors, jacuzzi single bath and cedar accent walls. The master bedroom is 16’x13’ with 2 large closets, built-in drawers & storage under dormer windows, original wood floors and original oak lath & plaster walls skim coated, and wall papered. The second bedroom is 14’x11’ with original wood floors, storage under dormer windows. This bedroom needs to be finished off. The great room located above the kitchen and built in 2006. Access can be gained from the kitchen staircase or front staircase. This room is 23’x17’ with built-in storage, built-in storage/gun/valuable fireproof safe, Pergo flooring and dustpan type dormer complete with three windows overlooking the property. The great room needs some minor re-finishing to be complete. There is a full basement with granite foundation under the main house. The kitchen is a concrete slab on 4’ frost wall, well insulated with radiant floor heat.

The guest house was built in 1939 for a multi-generational farm family. It has gone thru many renovations. Currently it is a 2-bedroom, 1-bath (recently update) home with living room, dining room, kitchen, step-down den, entryway, mudroom and full basement with workshop and washer dryer. The home has hardwood floors, lots of windows, linoleum floor in kitchen and new counter tops/kitchen sink/cook stove. One bedroom is currently being re-done. This home could be used as a long-term rental, short term rental or even sold off.

The original barn is the oldest in the town of Penobscot (c. 1800). It is post and beam construction with a cellar, typical to this period, and is considered to have 4 “floors”. The main floor has the horse stalls and grain room still intact. There is a side haymow is where loose hay was stored before bailed hay was created. The third floor also stored hay and the fourth floor opened to operate the hay fork. Later, an addition was built on the back of the barn where dairy cows were tied up to be milked. Many different livestock have sought refuge in this barn over the years. The barn has power & water.

The current owners built the new 24’x60’ barn in 1996 with logs cut off their land and milled out in their lumber mill. All the boards and shingles were also milled in the lumber mill. It has metal gambrel roof. The main floor, which is cement, housed cattle, oxen and eventually sheep. Two large box stalls were used as birthing stalls and to wean calves. Head gates for cows can be locked for veterinary checks or left open for stall feeding. The second story is large enough to store 1,000-1,200 square hay bales or 60 single layer 500 pound round bales. The loft door is large enough to put bales thru. This barn has power & water.

The historic 2-story detached garage is currently used for storage and repair shop to maintain farm machinery. It was originally a two-car garage with a shoe repair shop on the first floor and the second floor served as a drying room for horse harnesses. In the early 1900’s the owner’s grandfather drove the RFD mail coach and used 5 horses, one for each day. When the harnesses became wet, they dried them on the second floor. The owner’s father later used the garage as an auto repair shop until the late 1940’s. This garage was built by the owner’s grandfather. A model T Ford was stored in this garage.

The historic shop building, next to the garage, is currently used as a wood working shop and storage. It was originally used by the owner’s great-grandfather as a dry goods store and to keep the horse buggy’s, sleighs and wagons. Some of the boxes and shelves remain from the dry goods store. Later, the owner’s grandfather turned it into carpenter shop where they made sled runners, horse wagons and repaired horse sleds. Some of the sled runner patterns remain. Attached to the shop building is the old blacksmith shop where they made horseshoes, axes, knives, and all kinds of forge work for repairs. Parts of the old forge remain. This area was also used as a butcher shop.

Very close by the Staples Farm is the town landing with boat launch and access to Northern Bay. Northern Bay is part of the Bagaduce River which travels by Castine and into the confluence of west and east Penobscot Bays where the islands of Isleboro, Vinalhaven, North Haven, Deer Isle, Stonington and Isle Au Haut are located. Property is in Maine Current Use Tax Program called Tree Growth. Taxes for 2020 were $4,137.