The transaction was not the most expensive residential sale in Bethel so far this year. The day before, on Aug. 14, a private home at 287 Tara Way sold for $2.1 million.

The former GraceNote Inn and Spa was sold as a private residence Aug. 15 for $1.8 million to a private equity firm owned by Doug Stevenson of Bowdoinham.

The property was previously owned by Carl and Brenda Blond, who purchased it in 2016 from David and Nancy Murphy for $239,000. At the time, the house had been vacant for at least 15 years. Brenda Blond oversaw extensive renovations, and in 2022, the Gracenote Inn and Spa officially opened.

Stevenson is the founder of Chickadee Equity LLC, a private equity lending firm he established in 2019. Prior to that, he spent nine years working with his two brothers at Modern Pest Services, a New England-based company founded by their father in 1945. Stevenson served as chief financial officer and co-president until the business was sold in 2017.

The 10,699-square-foot historic home was built in 1791 and sits on 1.63 acres. It features nine bedrooms and 9.5 bathrooms.

One of the home’s most notable former occupants was William Rogers Chapman (1855-1935), a Bethel native raised by his widowed mother. A graduate of Gould Academy, Chapman went on to become a respected musician and music teacher. He is best known for founding the Maine Music Festival, which he directed for 20 years.

This isn’t the first big sale in Bethel this year. The day before the GraceNote Inn sale, on Aug. 14, a private residence at 287 Tara Way in Bethel sold for $2.1 million.