NEW PARIS -- An auction next week could open up the county's highest point to future possibilities.

But whether it's purchased for a ski resort, a sledding hill, a retreat center, a gravel pit or any other use is anyone's guess.

It's been a couple of decades since anyone skied down the slopes at the Mt. Wawasee ski resort on Buzzard Hill, but anybody with interest in the 55-acre property can go Sunday afternoon to look around.

Sunday's open house runs from 1 to 3 p.m. at the hill, 18646 C.R. 50. The auction will happen Nov. 14 at 10 a.m.

The Buzzard Hill name comes from the Buzzard family of Foraker who once owned it. In the 1940s Paul and Helen Christner bought the hill, and in 1962 a group of three investors opened up Mt. Wawasee. They sold it in the late '70s, and it closed in 1987.

The Christners died in 1996, and a legal battle erupted among their survivors. In 2006 the property sold at a sheriff's sale to the Christners' three grandsons: Brian Christner, Chris Begley and Brad Begley. Their aunt bid against them at that time, but is now deceased.

The brothers kept everything the same since then and decided it's time to sell the property.

There's a ski lodge that needs work, the framework of an old chair lift, and some disconnected snow-making equipment. At the 1,041-foot summit of the hill a deck provides views of Syracuse and Goshen.

It sits on a lot of rock, too.

The second-place bidder in the 2006 auction, Barney Beer of Elkhart County Sand & Gravel, said he's not sure if he's going to try again to buy the hill for gravel. "With the way the economy is, I just don't know," he said.

The economy also has Brian Christner wondering if it will sell. "I don't have a crystal ball," he said.

However, he pointed out it has "the best view in northern Indiana."

Christner also said, "In my heart it's a crown jewel in Elkhart County. It's just a spectacular piece of property."

That, said Brandon Steffen, who's handling the auction, should insulate it from economic woes. "I don't have as much concern for a property like this because it's so unique."

The property will sell as four parcels, though the owners hope all four go to the same person.

There will be a reserve price, Steffen said, though Christner said it hasn't been set.

"There's a lot of good interest in the property," Steffen said.

Tomorrow's open house could allow people to relive some history. "We certainly invite the community to come out and look at the property, reminisce, there's a lot of great memories, walk to the top, you can see for miles," Steffen said.

For more information on the auction check out www.mtwawasee.com or www.steffengrp.com.