Folk musician LaMontagne buys estate in Pioneer Valley

By Dan Crowley
Staff Writer

Published on January 02, 2009

ASHFIELD - American folk singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne may be moving to Ashfield, according to a record-breaking property sale in that western Franklin County town.

For the second time in less than two months, a 23-room estate and more than 100 acres of land on Bullitt Road in Ashfield has changed hands, this time selling to LaMontagne and Sarah A. Sousa, of Phillips, Maine.

LaMontagne, who played at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton earlier this year, bought the property for $1.05 million from Dr. James W. Wallace, of Cambridge.

Wallace had bought the one-time summer home of a former ambassador in November for $1 million from the William C. Bullitt Foundation.

It's not clear why the property changed hands so quickly, though local Realtors say it's the highest residential sale in Franklin County in recent memory.

LaMontagne, 35, is an award-winning singer-songwriter who could not be reached for comment for this story. He had reportedly moved into a farmhouse in Phillips, Maine, earlier this year, a home that had once belonged to the late author Norman Mailer.

Nevertheless, the fact that LaMontagne has bought residential property in the Valley is bound to cause a stir in the local music scene.

"It's great when any great artist moves to the Valley," said John Reily, a former music director and disc jockey at WRSI "The River" in Northampton, also known as Johnny Memphis.

"He's really an excellent singer and songwriter," Reily said.

Born in Nashua, N.H., LaMontagne quit his job in a shoe factory and began his musical career after hearing Stephen Stills' song "Treetop Flyer." He began touring in 1999 and has since released three albums, including his most recent, "Gossip in the Grain."

"We sold through them for the holidays," said Josh Bean, manager of Turn It Up records in Northampton, of LaMontagne's latest release.

In November, the William C. Bullitt Foundation Inc. sold property at 369 Bullitt Road in Ashfield, as well as "Parcel 17" on Bullitt Road, to Wallace, of Cambridge.

The estate itself has six bedrooms, 4½ baths, five fireplaces, a ballroom and sits on 50 acres of land. The square footage of the home is 7,363, according to online real estate listings.

Bullitt Road is located east and a little south of Ashfield center. The road runs southeast from Route 116 within half a mile of the Conway line.