TILGHMAN ISLAND, Md. - Rusty white railings and overgrown bushes are just part of the empty scene at the Tilghman Island Inn.
That wasn't the case in Easton Tuesday morning.
Doug Marshall was busy auctioning off the Tilghman Island property in front of a crowd at the Talbot County Courthouse.
"Anytime you have a crowd of 40, 50 people and that much active bidding. That was a very good auction," Marshall said.
A good auction for good reason.
Ron Cicero, who says he owns the marina right next door to the old Inn, showed up at the auction hoping to make a bid.
"It brought a lot of tourism to the island and was a very thriving business throughout most of the 2000s," Cicero said.
Thriving years ago but the owner of the Inn, the Purple House, and a nearby residential property located on Deep Harbor Farm Road, could never get his finances together, according to Cicero.
"It used to be great," Cicero said.
At the auction, the three properties were sold off separately totaling close to $1.2 million. The Tilghman Island Inn sold for $675,000. The Deep Harbor Farm Road House for $405,000 and the Purple House for $42,000.
Both the Inn and the Purple House bought by Kevin Cashen on behalf of Queenstown Bank.
"It doesn't do us any good to have an Inn just sitting there not operating for as long as this has," Cashen said.
Cashen, President of Queenstown Bank, says they lent money to the owner, but when he couldn't pay back, they foreclosed.
Cashen says it's unfortunate, but in new hands, the properties may have a new lease on life.
