THE HISTORY OF LIVE WELL FARM
The farm house
A rambling farmhouse, now a modern and comfortable sanctuary for you and your guests. With five bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, a locally crafted dining table, and a kitchen that would satisfy a gourmet chef, our farmhouse is one of the significant perks of staying at LWF.
THE BARN
Close to two centuries in the making. Once used as a dairy barn this space has seen several uses over the years. Renovated in 2017.
The farmhouse, originally built in 1835 by Moses Bailey and owned by a local clipper ship captain has changed hands several times over the years. Just after the turn of the 20th century it became known in Harpswell as one of its best agricultural properties. Owners with local family names like Orr, MacDonald and McGee raised crops and dairy cows, and developed a wonderful orchard that still yields incredible apple harvests to this day.
In the 1990’s the property came under the ownership of a family from ‘away’ (Lewiston, that is!) by the name of Dempsey. It quickly became the worst kept secret in Harpswell that we had a new ‘Dr.’ in town; Dr. ‘McDreamy’ of Grey’s Anatomy fame. Spending time between Hollywood and Harpswell, Patrick Dempsey married his wife, Jillian at the farm while developing his philanthropic presence in Lewiston with the Dempsey Center for cancer prevention, hope, and healing. He maintains his ties to Live Well and Maine with the success of his ongoing work and the annual Dempsey Challenge.
In 2013, Lee Jones of Locke-Jones Building and Restoration, a local artisan and master carpenter specializing in restorations headed all phases of the renovation. Ironically, Lee knew the house from stem to stern as he spent much of his childhood years playing in the house and on the property with members of the McGee family. Thirteen months of work yielded incredible architectural and design results. Shortly after completing the restoration phase, locals Patty and Scott Rupert realized the property into a full time venue. In 2020, Cassandra Stearns and Ignacio Garcerón acquired the property and continued to operate the property as a full time venue until turning the reins over to Jen & Nick Charboneau for the start of the summer of 2025. Over 300+ successful events later and the property is still realizing new avenues of potential.
THE GROUNDS
A peaceful, pastoral landscape enveloped by the beauty of Maine’s wilderness. Layered gardens grow and with each season bring a romantic abundance of botanical interest around an ever evolving architectural framework.
HARPSWELL
A little known jewel on Maine’s midcoast. With more shorefront than any other town in the United States it provides many backdrops for memorable pictures. From LWF, the waterfront is just through the woods and an open ocean framing the famous “Cribstone Bridge”.