Former spy’s $1.9M Maine island home for sale

A unique island home for sale in Down East Maine — “a marvel of engineering” — was built by a former-spy-cum-college-professor and his students in the late 1960s.

The home at 2 Eastern Shores Road on Beals Island is about a 10-minute drive from Jonesport and was first listed Monday for $1.9 million. Already, it’s generating some buzz.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house has an incredibly unique, polygonal structure that listing agent William Milliken said reflects the “amazing mind” of its architect, Franklin Lindsay , a decorated wartime spy and businessman. During the Second World War, Lindsay, originally from Massachusetts, served with the Office of Strategic Services –– a predecessor agency to the CIA –– and carried out high-stakes missions in communist-controlled central Europe.

Among Lindsay’s other accomplishments was his role in developing camera lenses for spy satellites as president of the Itek Corp., said Milliken, a broker with Bold Coast Properties. Around the time Lindsay was named an associate at Harvard College’s Kennedy Institute , Milliken said, he acquired 100 acres on Beals Island in Maine and set about building a seasonal home with several of his students.

“He was brilliant. He and his students basically built a marvel of engineering,” Milliken said. “He and his wife, Margot, spent summers there for close to 40 years.”

Lindsay subdivided the property shortly before his death in 2011, Milliken said, sectioning off the house with more than 1,300 feet of deep water frontage and a 32-acre plot of mature spruce forest. Aside from a trail, the forest is untouched.

A retired firefighter took ownership of the property for a couple of summers, and then it was bought by its current owner, who renovated the home recently to include a new heating system, new roof, new siding and new decks that wrap around the entire 2,500-square-foot home.

“With the decks hanging around, it’s like a flying saucer, almost,” Milliken said. “It’s a super sexy house. It’s really, profoundly contemporary.”

Stand-out features, to Milliken, include stunning panoramic views of the Gulf of Maine, nearby islands and the surrounding pristine woodlands. The property sits on a high ledge, he said, but it has a gangway where a skiff could be tied. Basic amenities, including a grocery store, hardware store, library and medical center, are a quick drive away in Jonesport.

The home was designed to be a three-season property, Milliken said. Though it’d take a bit of work to make it a year-round property, it’s doable, he said.

The listing has only been up since Monday, but Milliken said it’s already generating inquiries. Much like a previous listing of his that “went viral,” Milliken anticipates this will be a popular one because of its beautiful, rugged location and one-of-a-kind architecture.

“It’s going to be a nice, peaceful getaway for the right person,” he said.