Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
This Victorian estate in Kennebec County that was once a grand single-family summer home, an assisted living facility and a restaurant is now for sale for $600,000.
With nearly 6,000 square feet of living space across three stories, this eight-bedroom, five-bathroom estate sits on 5.7 acres on East Pittston Road in Pittston. The property is nestled in a quiet community and is next to a general store, while still being just a 20-minute drive away from downtown Augusta.
Known locally as the Moody Mansion, the Queen Anne style Victorian was built in 1890 for Leonard and Marianna Moody, who split their time between Brooklyn and Maine.
The Parfitt Brothers, also of Brooklyn, designed the mansion, according to Anna Bogan of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate/The Masiello Group, the listing agent for the property.
“Leonard Moody was a Pittston native who went to New York and made a fortune and came back and built this as a summer home,” Bogan said.
Leonard Moody died in 1905 and his wife sold the home six years later, according to the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, the home served several different purposes depending on its owner.
From 1920 to 1943 it became a local convalescent hospital, then was earmarked as an evacuation hospital for the local Civilian Defense unit during World War II.
Families who owned it in the 1950s through the 1970s raised poultry on the property until 1977 when it was converted into a retirement home. A commercial kitchen was later installed and the first floor served as a restaurant.
The home also served as a homeless shelter in the 1990s for a short time until it was shut down by the State Fire Marshall for code violations.
The estate has had a few different owners since then who have worked to restore the main house and maintain its historic elements.
Despite being more than 130 years old, the home still holds many of its original historic features, including pocket doors, built-in cabinets and numerous fireplaces with carved wooden mantles.
But, the home’s semi-circular window or arched doorway that now holds a writing desk are Bogan’s favorite elements in the house, she said.
The home entered the National Register of Historic Places in May 2006.
The current owners, a couple, have spent several years making improvements to the home, including installing crystal chandeliers and adding period wallpaper, Bogan said. They decided to sell the building when they moved away.
The home was first listed in September 2023 for $750,000, but has since undergone a series of price changes, Zillow records show. Most recently, the home hit the market on April 1 with an asking price of $599,900.
Before that, it was listed in March 2025 for $650,000, and the price was cut then raised several times until the listing was removed in September 2025, according to Zillow. At the time, it had an asking price of $440,000.
The building was last sold in 2017 for $190,000.
The property also includes two detached outbuildings — a large barn and a converted garage that holds an apartment.
“The separate dwelling unit needs a lot of work, but it has a living room, dining room, bathroom and kitchen,” Bogan said. “It would be a wonderful place for a caretaker or a maintenance worker.”
The original home had an attached two-story service wing and a large detached barn, but the barn was torn down in the 1950s and replaced with a garage. A large poultry barn was also built on the north edge of the site.
About 30 years later, the servants’ wing was renovated so the home could serve as a retirement facility.
The home has remained intact throughout its many uses rather than being chopped up into smaller apartments, Bogan said. It could easily serve as a single-family home again, or take on a new life in the hospitality industry or become an event venue.
“It’s perfect for somebody who has long dreamed of opening a bed and breakfast in Maine who’s sitting at their computer in Pennsylvania, scrolling on Zillow, looking for the perfect property,” Bogan said. “This is it.”