On the Market: A Charming Country Home near “Haunted Lake”

This New Hampshire estate features an old-fashioned well, a five-stall barn, and, yes, a local lake fit for Halloween.

By Sofia Rivera· 10/31/2019, 10:44 a.m.

Photo by David Turner/Pro Pictures Photography

1 Cross Road, Francestown, NH
Price: $669,900
Size: 5,669 square feet
Bedrooms: 5
Baths: 5

Looking for a Halloween attraction that’s free of the pretense of actors and animatronics? Make the hour and a half drive up to Francestown, New Hampshire, where the town beach borders the suspiciously named Haunted Lake. Though locals may revel in the hot and cold of the sand and water in the summertime, the chill of autumn makes it a little harder to look at the name and shrug. In fact, there are rumors galore about what could have happened to curse the swimming hole with such a title: a skeletal discovery, a random murder, and fire that burned a menacing ring of charred nature around the water are among the stories. Today, the lake is a scenic sight looped by foliage; of its five Google reviews, all are positive save one one-star review with no explanation.

If you leave Haunted Lake and head a few miles down Journeys End Road (nothing to see here), you’ll shortly arrive at One Cross Road, a rural estate with room enough for a five-stall barn, heated workshop, fenced-in pasture, and a volleyball court, not to mention an entertaining zone with a fire pit, half bath, and an outdoor kitchen underneath a gazebo.

Aside from the equestrian glory of the grounds, the 1770-built home is brimming with nifty original details. There’s the shiny pine flooring and the hand-carved ceiling beams, but more fascinating is the dug well that stakes out the foyer. These days the water supply comes from a drilled well, but when the next nor’easter hits and the power goes out, you can still drop a bucket down into this old-fashioned well and use the pulley to hoist it up. Or, you can just wait for the back-up generator to kick on.

The home’s 16 rooms boast many more neat features, including a worn wooden kitchen with a six-burner commercial gas range, an in-law suite in the ell (the extension that connects the home to the garage), and a sauna off of the mudroom.

If the spooky potential of Haunted Lake brings you up to Francestown, the many charms of this home might just convince you to stick around.

For information, contact William Goddard, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, coldwellbankerhomes.com.