A sprawling Gilded Age mansion in Orange, Massachusetts, that once stood empty and rotting for five years is now on the market for $1,147,000, fully restored into a boutique inn complete with a hedge maze, a domed billiard room, and fireplaces trimmed in jade and onyx. The 13,589-square-foot property at 75 East Main St. has 13 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms, and its owner says she wants it to keep serving the community even after she sells.
From Sewing Machine Fortune to Abandoned Ruin
The mansion was built in 1903 for John W. Wheeler and his wife, Almira, whose fortune came from a sewing machine business, according to The Boston Globe. Wheeler served as president of the New Home Sewing Machine Co., as masslive.com reports. He died inside the home in 1910, having deeded the property to the Order of the Eastern Star, a co-ed Masonic appendant body, per the Globe.
In 1925, the mansion was converted into a rest home for women of the order, and that use continued for 65 years before the home closed in 1990, masslive.com's reporting shows. The property was then sold and returned to use as a private residence, but financial setbacks pushed it into foreclosure in 2015. For the next five years it sat empty and decaying, suffering damage from a leaking roof and burst pipes, according to the same account.
A $150,000 Gamble Sight Unseen
Cynthia Butler, now 55, bought the mansion sight unseen at auction for $150,000 in June 2020, a price confirmed by recorder.com. She moved from Los Angeles to the East Coast with her children shortly after the purchase, and has now lived at the mansion for six years, per the Globe's reporting. Butler had spent 20 years flipping houses while running a video production company, but she told the Globe the mansion was five times larger than anything she had restored before.
Butler began restoration work on the mansion in 2020 and held a ribbon-cutting in April 2024, reopening it as a boutique inn, event venue, and short-term rental, according to masslive.com. The property's own site, revivalwheelermansion.com, describes Butler relocating to Orange that same summer to take on what it calls the endeavor of saving the mansion. She has described the restoration as both a passion project and a potential retirement plan, the Globe reports.
Weddings, Murder Mysteries, and an Airbnb Carriage House
Today the mansion is marketed as a turnkey boutique inn, licensed event venue, and short-term rental operation, according to a property listing that details 13 guest rooms, a grand foyer, a formal dining room, a billiards room, and a large kitchen on 1.54 acres. The property is used for short-term rentals and public events, including weddings, and makes use of the carriage house. Prospective buyers have shown the most interest in using the property as an event venue, according to homes.com.
A separate listing from williampitt.com pitches the mansion as ideally suited for a boutique hotel, wedding venue, corporate retreat, wellness destination, culinary experience, hospitality venture, or private estate, calling it an established ecotourism hospitality destination with multiple revenue streams. The listing was posted June 1, 2026, with the asking price most recently adjusted on August 18, 2026, down from an original $1,222,000 to its current $1,147,000, per commonwealthstandard.com.
Listing Agent Hopes the Mansion Stays Public
Sara Lyman, who has worked in the area for 25 years with The Hometown Team, partnered with Real Broker, is handling the listing, according to the Globe. Lyman said the mansion's restoration and its public use for events is special, and both she and Butler hope the mansion continues as a community event space under new ownership, the Globe reports.
The mansion is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of John W. Wheeler and the ladies of the Order of the Eastern Star, and Butler has said she has had paranormal experiences there, describing the spirits as more prankster-ish than anything else, per the Globe's account.
Not the Only Massachusetts Mansion With a Past
The Wheeler Mansion isn't the only historic New England property drawing buyers with both restoration stories and spooky reputations. The S.K. Pierce Mansion in Gardner, built in 1875 by furniture magnate Sylvester K. Pierce, is listed for $1.2 million and has nine bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and nearly 7,000 square feet, according to seacoastcurrent.com. That property opened for public tours in 2022 and is zoned for business use, including potential bed-and-breakfast or Airbnb operations, the outlet reports.
