It's not haunted. But it was built around 1835 near a spring that reputedly brought forth healing waters. In 1976, the 14,000-square-foot Clarendon House in West Rutland was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It can be yours for $599,000.

In its heyday, Clarendon House attracted visitors from across the country to stay in the hotel and enjoy the healing waters, said Gail Beardmore, owner/broker of Engel & Volkers Okemo.

"There are old photos of Southern belles on the porch with parasols," Beardmore said. "It was quite impressive back then."

Beardmore has been trying for nearly 10 years to sell the property, which looks good on the outside but is basically an empty shell on the inside. Clarendon House is also not on the way to anything.

"It's just off the beaten path, that's the other problem," Beardmore said.

Beardmore recently changed her strategy to sell the property.

"The problem was we kept getting guys with hammers, who would end up saying, 'Oh wow, I don't think I can take this on,'" Beardmore said.

Now Beardmore is pursuing investors, "bigger thinkers" who might envision the property reborn as the hotel it once was, or perhaps a boutique spa. While it's remote, Clarendon House is "right in the middle" of several ski resorts, including Okemo, Killington and Stratton, Beardmore said. It's also not that far from New York City.

Antique business on the decline

Tony Costantino has owned Clarendon House since 1976. Before that, beginning in 1973, he rented it. Costantino and his wife, Bonnie, used it for years as the base for their business, Clarendon House Antiques. Over the years, the couple restored the exterior of the building, but left the interior mostly empty.

"It's pretty wide open," Costantino said. "We used it just as a warehouse. Some people came just because I was selling antiques out of that building. It really worked over the last 50 years."

But today, the antique business isn't what it used to be, according to Costantino.

"Young people don't care about antiques," he said. "Things that were worth $20,000 are worth $2,000 or less."

Costantino still loves the pre-Civil War building, but said there's another reason he's letting go of it.

"I'm selling it because I'm getting old," Costantino said. "I just turned 77."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Clarendon House: A 14,000-square-foot former hotel is on the market