A 125-Year-Old Maine Shipbuilder's Home Is Yours for $1 — If You Can Move It

A Dollar Gets You the House, But Not a Free Ride

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is selling a historic home in Bath, Maine, for just $1 — but there's a significant catch: you have to move it. It's the kind of deal that sounds almost too good to be true, and in a way, it is. The price tag is essentially a formality. The real challenge — and the real cost — lies in what comes next.

Bath Iron Works announced it is selling two residential buildings for $1 each, including the historic Deering House at 606 Washington Street. The Deering House was built around 1900 and was originally the home of prominent local shipbuilder Gardiner G. Deering, whose former shipyard played a key role in Bath's maritime history along the Kennebec River. The 4,216-square-foot house is valued at nearly $462,000, according to Bath property records — making the $1 price tag feel both extraordinary and bittersweet.

The Clock Is Ticking

Whoever buys the buildings has to relocate them to "a legally permissible site" by November 20, 2027. Currently, the old home is being used as office space, with tenants under lease through November 2027. That timeline isn't an accident — it's the hard deadline before the wrecking ball arrives.

If the Deering House cannot be sold and moved, the home will be demolished to make way for a new BIW facility. Bath Iron Works explained the stakes plainly: "It's important for General Dynamics and Bath Iron Works to continue to be able to grow as a company and employ thousands of Mainers," said Jolene Nickerson, director of facilities capital at BIW. The shipyard's expansion needs are real, and the company isn't bluffing. The buildings are being sold as-is, with no warranties of any kind.

It's Been Done Before — But It Isn't Cheap

Moving an entire house sounds like the stuff of reality TV, but it's a legitimate — if logistically demanding — process. The historic John Calvin Stevens home in Augusta moved just last spring. The logistics involved moving power lines and transporting the home in two pieces, but it only went a third of a mile up the road and the cost was $100,000. That figure gives prospective buyers a sobering sense of what the real investment looks like, even before renovations or site preparation are factored in.

BIW says the hope is that "there is somebody that has a viable lot to move this to, and that it's financially feasible for somebody who is interested in the house to relocate it and preserve the historic nature, which the community is very excited about." In other words, the company isn't indifferent — it genuinely wants to see the house saved. But it also has a business to run.

A Piece of Maritime History Worth Fighting For

Bath's historical society hopes someone can save the old Deering house. "You would have a one-of-a-kind home and a great story," said Jack Martin, with Patten Free Library. Not only does the home carry its own rich history, but the new owner would also carry the story of being the person who moved and saved a historic home — and that's a legacy in itself.

For the right buyer — someone with land, resources, and a taste for adventure — this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. A century-old home tied to Maine's shipbuilding heritage, available for the price of a cup of coffee, just needs someone willing to literally pick it up and carry it forward. If no one steps up before the November 2027 deadline, one of Bath's most storied addresses will be reduced to rubble in the name of progress.