Belden Island, Branford, Conn.
For sale: $3.95 million
Jepson Island, Branford, Conn.
For sale: $1.995 million
Finding a vacation home on an island can be fairly easy, but finding an entire island that can serve as a vacation retreat is a little bit more difficult. In Connecticut's idyllic Thimble Islands, there are not one, but two islands for sale, each with its own rustic beach retreat.
"There are other homes in Thimble Islands, but there haven't been any full private islands offered since 2006," said Margaret Muir, the listing agent for the two homes.
Each home — like most of the places on the islands — is seasonal, and neither home has electricity, instead relying on solar power and natural gas.
One home, on larger Belden Island, celebrates its 100th birthday this year, Muir said.
"It's nicely maintained and very functional with original beadwork and wood floors," she said. "It has a very original feel, but it's very usable."
Belden Island is a little over an acre and comes with two acres of clam and oyster beds and a "rocking chair porch."
"It has 900 square feet of porch," Muir said. "If you're gonna live on the island, you're going to live on the porch."
The other island, Jepson Island, holds a more contemporary home, built in the 1980s. Like Belden Island, the home does not have its own power, but has a sandy beach and dock for boat mooring.
The Thimble Islands are just two hours from New York and Boston, and their ideal location made them a convenient summer White House for President William Howard Taft.
The rumor goes that the islands also were a convenient place for pirate Capt. William Kidd to store his treasure, but as Muir says, that's more of a local legend.
See more photos of the home on Zillow.
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