It doesn鈥檛 come cheap, but it turns out you don鈥檛 have to go very far from D.C. to own your own island.
Tippity Wichity Island, and the three-bedroom house on it, is for sale for the first time since the late 1970s, said David DeSantis of TTR Sotheby鈥檚 International Realty.
鈥淚 think it’s a great combination of history and a really tremendous opportunity to have a very private, secluded vacation spot,鈥� he told 草莓传媒.
To get to Tippity Wichity Island, you need to drive about 90 minutes from D.C. into St. Mary鈥檚 County, Maryland, and then take a quick boat ride to the middle of the St. Mary鈥檚 River.
It鈥檚 pretty removed, DeSantis said, and it might not be for everyone: 鈥淚 guess it depends on how much of a people person you are, right?鈥�
The current owners use it as a summer house, although 鈥淚 suppose that if you wanted to live there full time, you could,鈥� DeSantis said — the house does have electrical service as well as a generator.
About that history 鈥�
The island has arrowheads and shards of pottery in various places 鈥� signs of a Native American settlement 鈥� and was called Lynch Island before it was bought by Capt. Henry Howgate in 1879.
There are a bunch of theories as to how Howgate 鈥� a Civil War captain of whom it can鈥檛 be said for sure what side he fought on 鈥� came up with the new name, but it鈥檚 commonly believed that he started a brothel on the island.
鈥檚 favorite theory is that 鈥渢ipitiwitchet鈥� is a nod to the brothel history: the name 18th-century British botanists used to refer to the Venus flytrap, which they thought looked like 鈥� well, you know.
Anyway, DeSantis said the asking price for the house is $2.1 million — 鈥淎dmittedly, it’s hard to find comparables for a private island; I think that we were shooting a little bit in the dark when we came up with the price鈥� 鈥� and that they鈥檝e already got a few showings lined up.
