A Three-Story, 15,120-Square-Foot Barn on 3 Acres in Porter
$500,000
In Porter, near Bickford Pond — 3.17 acres of Maine land with water frontage on Mill Brook.
This 1846 Colonial comes with wide pine floors, a working hearth with its original Dutch oven, and a heated room with its own entrance that could serve as a home office or third bedroom — all backed by a massive three-story, 15,120-square-foot barn with a concrete floor and an elevator servicing all three levels. 2 bd / 2 ba, 1,848 sq ft, built 1846, on 3.17 acres.
Listed at $500,000. Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Coastal and Lakes & Mountains Realty.
Across the road, a second gambrel-style barn adds a garage bay, a woodworking shop, and an upper level already set up for entertaining with a built-in bar — between the two barns, this property has room for a farmstand, a workshop business, event space, or whatever a new owner's skillset points toward.
Homestead Potential
Water & Infrastructure
A private well and septic system already serve this property, and 441 feet of owned frontage on Mill Brook is a real, substantial water feature most rural Maine properties this size don't have. Bickford Pond, with its public boat launch and swimming area, sits just a short stroll away, adding recreational water access beyond the property's own brook frontage. Maine's well water in this part of the state is generally reliable, drawn from granite and glacial-till aquifers, though confirming this well's specific output is still worth doing given the barn structures' own utility needs. Given the brook runs directly along the property, a buyer should confirm the parcel's flood zone and whether the barns' lower levels have ever taken on water during high-water periods.
Crop & Income Potential
At 3.17 acres, this property is better suited to high-density market farming — vegetables, cut flowers, herbs — than large-scale row crops or pasture, and the existing outbuildings mean a buyer wouldn't be starting that operation without infrastructure already in place. Small animals like bees or a backyard chicken flock would fit comfortably within this acreage without needing to expand the footprint. The smaller of the two barns is a genuine candidate for conversion into a farmstand storefront, a realistic first business step for anyone growing produce or flowers here, especially given the property's visibility and the area's rural tourism traffic. Maine's short but intense growing season rewards exactly this kind of high-value, small-footprint growing over field-scale crops, which this property's size naturally supports.
Sustainability
A private well and septic system provide the household's basic self-sufficiency infrastructure, while the massive main barn's concrete floor and elevator mean heavy equipment, inventory, or workshop machinery can move through all three levels without the usual limitations of an old farm building. The second barn's woodworking shop is ready-made for furniture building or repair, soap making, or another hands-on small business — genuine income-generating infrastructure already standing rather than a barn that needs to be built first. The classic double-seated outhouse and attached storage bay add character and function beyond the main house's own footprint. For a buyer whose self-sufficiency vision includes a home-based business, not just growing food, this property's outbuildings do most of the heavy lifting already.
The Boundaries
At 3.17 acres with 441 feet of owned brook frontage, the property's water boundary is likely its most valuable and most tightly regulated edge — Maine's shoreland zoning rules can restrict what's built or modified near a waterway, so confirming the brook's regulated setback before planning any changes to the barns or grounds is essential. The property is zoned in Porter's Rural District, which the listing notes specifically allows the kind of commercial-adjacent use the outbuildings suggest, but confirming the exact permitted-use list with the town is worth doing before committing to a business plan. The second barn sits across the road from the main parcel, so confirming that it's included in the same deed and shares no separate access or utility easement questions is worth clarifying directly. A current survey is a reasonable expense here given how much of the property's value sits in structures split across two sides of a road.
Beyond the Property Line
Local Flavor & Small-Town Character
Porter is a small, quiet Oxford County town near the New Hampshire border, with the village of Kezar Falls just next door offering a real, if modest, small-town center. The broader Sebago Lakes region, one of Maine's most popular vacation areas, is a reasonable drive away, bringing seasonal tourism traffic that could support exactly the kind of farmstand or workshop business this property's outbuildings suggest. Cornish, a nearby town known for its antique shops and small-town charm, adds another regional draw with a similar rural New England character. For a property this rural, sitting within reach of both a lake tourism economy and a couple of real small-town centers is a genuine advantage.
Agricultural Resources & Neighbor Networks
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension office for Oxford County supports small farms and market gardeners with soil testing and season-extension guidance suited to Maine's short growing season. Western Maine has a growing population of small-scale flower and vegetable farms selling directly to consumers, a market this property's acreage and outbuildings fit well given the ideas already floated for a farmstand. Feed, seed, and garden supply are a drive into Cornish or across into North Conway, New Hampshire, both of which serve the broader region's rural and tourism-adjacent population. Local farmers' markets in the Sebago Lakes area offer a direct sales channel for exactly the kind of small-batch produce or value-added goods this property's structures could support.
Outdoor Recreation & Natural Surroundings
Bickford Pond's public boat launch and swimming area, just a short stroll from the property, offers immediate recreational water access without needing a car. The broader Sebago Lakes region draws boaters, anglers, and vacationers all summer, a major recreational economy within easy reach. The White Mountains, just across the New Hampshire border, add hiking and fall-foliage tourism within a reasonable drive. Between the pond next door, the lakes region, and the mountains beyond, this property sits at the edge of several distinct outdoor-recreation economies at once.
This one is overwhelmingly a farmstead story — a three-story, 15,000-square-foot barn with an elevator and a second barn with its own workshop are the kind of already-standing infrastructure most working properties spend a lifetime building, whatever specific business a new owner points them toward. The homestead side is more modest by comparison: a private well and septic are real, but there's no established garden, animals, or growing operation yet, so a self-sufficiency-focused buyer would be building that layer from the ground up on land that's genuinely suited to it.
— Your Pastures & Porches Team
Listed on Zillow
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