ASHFIELD — In his Grammy-nominated hit “Beg Steal or Borrow,” folk rock musician Ray LaMontagne sings that “one of these days, it’s gonna be right soon, you’ll find your legs and go.”

That day seems to have come for LaMontagne, whose 104-acre estate at 369 Bullitt Road is up for sale for $5.25 million.

Gladys Montgomery, a salesperson for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, said LaMontagne had indicated that “a new adventure beckons,” leading him to put the property on the market on Aug. 17. The “Bullitt Estate,” which features early 19th-century Neoclassical architecture and a 1920s European estate style, has since been viewed more than one million times via William Pitt Sotheby’s six-minute video and more than 270,000 times on TikTok, according to Montgomery.

“This video has gotten the most views of any the company has ever done,” Montgomery said. “I’m sure that’s because of Ray LaMontagne, but I’d like to think it’s because of the property, too.”

According to the property listing, the estate was originally built by a local farming family before being purchased in the early 1920s by William Bullitt, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia and France, who used it as a summer retreat.

The property has since undergone several additions and improvements, and now comprises a circa 1811 Federal-style farmhouse; a renovated 40-by-80-foot three-story barn and garage from the mid-1800s; a new 22-by-44-foot two-story post-and-beam carriage house; a 1920s-era three-car garage; a new stone cottage with a beamed interior and fireplace; and a small post-and-beam livestock barn with a pasture. The main residence has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and 10,747 square feet.

Additionally, LaMontagne and his wife, poet Sarah Sousa, had utility and building code renovations done between 2009 and 2012 after buying the property in 2008.

“The house is totally done for the 21st century,” Montgomery said, noting that LaMontagne and Sousa “were loyal to historic architectural details” of the 19th and 20th centuries “in every respect” when making improvements. “[It isn’t a question of] what the buyer needs to do. It’s more a question of what the buyer wants to do.”

The property’s Ashfield location is a draw in itself, the real estate firm emphasizes.

“Taken together, the 438 acres of conserved open land and forests surrounding the estate provide unparalleled protection and privacy, as well as miles of walking trails and access to Chapel Falls Brook and Pony Mountain,” the real estate listing reads. “Consequently, the Bullitt Estate is a place where one can truly be immersed in nature.”

“It’s very serene, very connected to nature, very quiet,” Montgomery added. “You see the animals in the field and it’s just amazing. … For a lot of people, particularly people who have some notoriety or wealth, the more private a place is, the better.”

It’s also close to the Five College Consortium and excellent neighbors, Montgomery continued.

“Ray LaMontagne said that when he and his family moved to Ashfield they felt incredibly welcomed,” she said, adding that the tight-knit Ashfield community gives the area “the feeling of a rural village.”

More details and contact information for Montgomery can be found at 369bullittrd.com.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.]]>