A 45,000-square-foot shell of a beautiful mansion with its own island in a huge lake is for sale for $72 million — and the property comes with scary Halloween-style folklore.
Flathead Lake in Dayton, Montana, is the largest natural inland lake west of the Mississippi – larger than Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Cromwell Island, with approximately three miles of shoreline, is located in the center of the lake. In the late 1980s, antique car and gun collector Robert M. Lee and his wife Anne built the exterior of a massive home on the island, but the interior was not completed before Lee died in 2016.
A few Halloweens ago, the entire island, the main residence and a completed guest house, came on the market for the first time. It was relisted earlier this year for $72 million.
“An island offering is always unique,” said broker Bill McDavid of Hall and Hall in an email to The Sacramento Bee. “An offer to own the largest private island west of the Mississippi River is almost fantasy. Although Cromwell Island is planned as a personal residence, it could be just as suitable for development as for a private club. “
The accommodation on the island offers beautiful views of the snow-capped mountains. And some claim that Flathead Lake may also catch a glimpse of a deer-like aquatic monster with huge antlers known as Flessie.
The story of a lake monster has roots in a traditional legend of the Kutenai, the first indigenous tribe in the area. The story goes that two girls from the tribe saw antlers poking through the surface of the frozen lake during the winter. As they attempted to cut off the antlers, the ice cracked open, revealing a monstrous creature with gigantic antlers. The girls escaped with the help of magical powers, but according to legend, half the tribe perished in the lake.
A monster legend grows
The legend has persisted.
“Like Loch Ness, Flathead even has its own monster,” according to Hall and Hall’s marketing materials. “Although the lore of a huge antler monster living in the lake is rooted in the ancient oral history of the Kootenai Tribe, recorded sightings of the creature date back to 1889 when a steamboat captain along with 100 passengers discovered a ‘whale-like’ object saw. on the water who dived after being shot at by one of the passengers. Somewhere along the way, the locals named the monster Flessie, an obvious tip-off to her counterpart in Scotland.”
No less interesting is the empty house on Cromwell Island itself. This grand mansion awaits its complete transformation into a luxurious residence. A buyer is free to decorate the interior exactly as he or she wishes while living in the completed guesthouse.
“Even in its unfinished state it has a presence reminiscent of Versailles,” the real estate listing said. “The mystique continues as Cromwell Island is now for sale and with so much potential, a new owner will have the chance to write the next chapter of a legendary place.”
Montana has become a popular place for the rich and famous to own homes. Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Tom Brady and Bill Gates all own homes in Montana.
