Private island in Maine for sale on eBay

• just a guy
  July 30th, 2007 at 8:54 pm

  Stephen King should SO purchase this!

• Alex
  July 30th, 2007 at 8:54 pm

  Can you build a permanent house on Ram Island?

• Adam Stanhope
  July 30th, 2007 at 8:59 pm

  Yes - absolutely - a permanent house could be built on Ram Island.

  My parents are artists - they never could afford to build a house there.

• Chris
  July 31st, 2007 at 12:14 am

  this looks cool, lobster traps and all just need to win the lottery now!
  er… just need to *play* the lottery now…

• lol
  July 31st, 2007 at 1:31 am

  if someone adds a joke bid that wins thats gonna be like a $50,000 fee rofl

• Padraig
  July 31st, 2007 at 4:11 am

  How much would such an island go for? Not necessarily interested in buying, just wondering…

  Although I have to admit I’ve always wanted my own private island. And Main’s nice to boot.

• why
  July 31st, 2007 at 8:16 am

  why are you advertising on neatorama?

• Adam Stanhope
  July 31st, 2007 at 8:21 am

  Why, indeed.

• Dave
  July 31st, 2007 at 9:02 am

  Is there a story behind the name?

• Adam Stanhope
  July 31st, 2007 at 12:32 pm

  Dave:

  The funny thing is that there are several “Ram Islands” in Maine. Ours is the northernmost and, (I think), the largest.

  It was named “Ram Island” because sheep were kept there. When my folks bought it in 1970 there were a number of sheep on the island along with a wooden building for them to take shelter in. The building was there throughout my youth into young adulthood (I am 37 now) but it collapsed sometime in the early 1990s and has since melted into the ground without a trace.

  There is at least one sheep (ram?) on the island at the moment. There are a few photos here:

  http://flickr.com/photos/astanhope/tags/ram/

• skh.pcola
  July 31st, 2007 at 2:18 pm

  Pretty neat-o. Adam, how would you obtain fresh water? Boat it in, collect rainwater, or do seawater desalination? Curious about that…good luck with the sale.

• Dave
  July 31st, 2007 at 3:40 pm

  I suppose “Ram Island” in the NE is about as ubiquitous as “Long Lake” here in the upper midwest.

  Very neat place. I’ll bet you’ve got tons of great memories about that place. I wonder; does it feel smaller to you now than you remember it?

  Too bad it can’t stay in the family a little longer. Hey, here’s a thought… Anybody else willing to throw $10 into a pot to help Adam buy his folks’ island? I’ll be first. Now we just need another 79,499 people to pitch in!

• Adam Stanhope
  July 31st, 2007 at 5:05 pm

  We always hauled water. We’ve been told that the island is a good candidate for having a well drilled for fresh water.

  There is a spot - it’s actually at the rear-left of the photo above, the dark cliff below to the left of the tents - where freshwater trickles down the cliff. I think that freshwater is spring-fed.

• skh.pcola
  July 31st, 2007 at 8:01 pm

  Cool. It’s kind of neat that you can drill a freshwater well on a small island 1.5 miles into the ocean.

  And, I realize that I can’t afford this isle, but do you have any idea what the property taxes cost per year?

• Adam Stanhope
  July 31st, 2007 at 9:23 pm

  Property taxes: $2000+/yr.

• Adam Stanhope
  August 1st, 2007 at 10:42 am

  Hi Dave:

  Somehow I missed your last question. I think perhaps that your comment got stuck in the moderation queue.

  So, yes - the memories of the place are wonderful. I think the first time I went I was in fifth grade. The sound of ocean, the salt air, the foghorn are all burned into my mind. I love it up there.

  Some other memories:

  The green shimmering curtain of the northern lights. Views of the Milky Way galaxy unpolluted by light. With the lack of light pollution, one can even see satellites orbiting at times.

  Another amazing thing was the incredible shortwave radio reception we can get there at night - so many channels from so many places that barely touching the dial would produce lock into another transmission. We’d sit be the campfire at night and listen to Radio Moscow and the BBC and Voice of America and dozens of other wonderful cultural transmissions. I’ve never been able to get shortwave radio reception as good as that anywhere else.

  As far as my impression of the size of the island goes, having married a foreigner in 1991 my vacation time throughout the 90s was mostly spent in my wife’s country (Thailand). Because of that I personally didn’t visit the island for appx. 10 years. Upon returning after that hiatus, I was actually surprised to find it BIGGER than I had remembered it. Its size is something the photographs don’t give justice to. The fact that it has more than a mile of ocean frontage might hint at its size. It is big enough that even with 9 of us camping, it’s possible for everybody to be off on their own doing something, out of view of everybody else.

  Happy times!

  I wish I could afford to buy it from my folks, but alas, my fortunes disappeared along with the dotcom bubble. Those sure were the days, huh? hehe

• Nora
  August 2nd, 2007 at 7:41 pm

  I always laugh when people question why something is on Neatorama.

  Uhm maybe because its a individuals blog and he can put whatever he feels like on here?

  If I had the money, I would SO buy this. I always wanted an island.

• JC
  September 9th, 2007 at 11:38 am

  Very very nice. It could be overpriced however. A couple of more miles north into Canada and similar islands are in the range of $150K. Something to think about.

  Best of luck

• william holden
  July 4th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

  Is Ram Island still for sale?

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