"$800,000 bid, now 9, will you do 9? $900,000 bid, now 10, who will bid 10?" At a starting bid of $800,000, a Connecticut ghost town named Johnsonville will be on the auction block come Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The town has an interesting past, but would you expect any less from a ghost town? This tale includes an old mill village, a man with big bucks and an even bigger idea, and Billy Joel. Originally a mill village, the 60-plus-acre property is home to a small pond, two churches, and a restaurant, among other buildings. The History

"The nearby Neptune Mill supplied twine for fishing nets to the Connecticut coast, and workers here built a village that prospered all the way until the 1960s," according to the National Geographic footage from Abandoned, a show about forgotten places. "But when the demand for twine disappeared, so did the villagers." Footage of Johnsonville is featured at the end of the article.

"After Schmitt took possession of the property, he purchased other vintage buildings and had them moved to Johnsonville, including a Victorian stable and chapel, which hosted weddings," the Damned CT page on Johnsonville notes. "Schmitt didn't formally run tours on the property, but he did open the property for visitors on a regular basis. He also allowed special events including charity benefits and weddings."

The Emory Johnson Homestead in Johnsonville was built in 1842 and served as the home of Emory Johnson, who owned the nearby twine mills, according to the Historic Buildings of CT website. Under Schmitt's ownership, the home became a museum dedicated to Victorian-era furnishings.