Claim of Maine lobsterman rejecting data center offer debunked; real case involved Pennsylvania farmer
A viral Facebook claim about a Maine lobsterman rejecting a $15 million data center offer is false. The claim appears to be a fictionalized version of a real case where a retired farmer in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, declined a similar offer from data center developers to preserve his farmland.
The Portland Press Herald fact-checked a viral Facebook claim circulating on social media regarding a Maine lobsterman who allegedly rejected a $15 million offer to build a data center on his "Down East" property. The publication found no evidence to substantiate this claim, concluding it is a fictionalized retelling of a genuine incident in Pennsylvania.
In the actual case, Mervin Raudabaugh, a retired farmer from Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, declined an offer exceeding $15 million from data center developers for his two farms, which encompass approximately 261 acres. Instead of selling for development, the Raudabaugh family opted to preserve both farms through conservation easements, selling the development rights for around $1.9 million and permanently restricting future development. This preservation was confirmed by the Lancaster Farmland Trust, with the township reporting the deal closed in December 2025.
Raudabaugh expressed his motivation as a concern for the decline of American farmland and the nation's increasing dependence on foreign food sources. While an underwater data center project is proposed near Eastport, Maine, and is under federal review, the filing for that project does not include any $15 million land offer to a lobsterman, further discrediting the viral claim.