Sawyer’s Way to Open Auction House in Edgecomb

Sawyer’s Way in Edgecomb, a homegrown family antique and salvage business, will soon open the first auction house on the Boothbay peninsula. The Edgecomb Planning Board approved Jeff and Jen Dowdy’s site plan review application for the construction of an accessory building adjacent to the Sawyer’s Way store on Route 27 at the board’s July 16 meeting.

Jeff Dowdy, a recently licensed auctioneer, will soon be taking bids in rapid-fire auctioneer style on an eclectic array of antique, vintage, and salvaged items.
Work has already begun to construct the approximate 40-by-60- foot roof with posts that will serve as the auction house. The Dowdys hope to hold their first auction in
August.

“We wanted a structure that looked professional. We thought it would be better for the town,” Jen Dowdy said. The site plan review for an accessory building was an added step the Dowdys went through for their auction house.

The application would not have been necessary if the Dowdys erected a circus-esque tent to hold auctions in. However, the Dowdys chose to build a structure that would be visually appealing for the town.

The permanent structure will compliment the red barn that has gone through various incarnations of the family business.

The Sawyer family has been on the Boothbay peninsula since the 1800s. Antique dealing and
salvaging became a family tradition when William Melvin Sawyer, Jeff Dowdy’s great-great-grandfather, opened a shop in Boothbay Harbor, at the current location of the Tugboat Inn, where he purchased and salvaged ships.

Sawyer’s Way, located at 897 Boothbay Rd. (Route 27), was initially opened as a convenience store by Jeff Dowdy’s mother. It then morphed into a military surplus dealership.

Now it is devoted to buying and selling a diverse array of antique, vintage, and salvaged items. Soon it will serve as the only auction house on the Boothbay peninsula, according to the Dowdys.
Jeff Dowdy has bought and sold antiques since he was a child. “This is in his blood,” Jen Dowdy said.

Expanding Sawyer’s Way to include an auction house was “the natural progression of the business,” Jeff Dowdy said. “We’re going to hold old-time, country-style auctions,” he said.

The auction house will be a place individuals can sell their excess items on consignment and will also provide some entertainment to the town, the Dowdys said.

The project already provided entertainment for the Edgecomb Planning Board with a series of auctioneer jokes made while the project was approved.

“This is exciting for us and for the town,” Jen Dowdy said. “Now there will be another attraction in the town of Edgecomb.”

For more information about Sawyer’s Way and the soon-to-open auction house, contact Jeff and Jen Dowdy at 841-0700 or visit Sawyer’s Way at 897 Boothbay Rd. in Edgecomb. Sawyer’s Way is open by appointment or by chance.