The house at 204 Bank St. has only three floors, but hundreds of stories — and they could all be yours.

But more likely, the stories will be split among several hundred bidders when the 103-year-old house and all its contents go to auction next month.

The opulent mansion, constructed by lumber magnate George W. Truitt in 1909, sits at the corner of Bank and Grace streets. Reported to be Suffolk’s first millionaire, Truitt spared no expense in the construction of the house, to the point that other well-to-do families in the area enlarged their homes just to keep up.

“There’s not another house in Suffolk like it, not in this part of the world,” said Barry Cole of United Country A.B. Cole and Associates Auction and Realty. “He had the best of the best available to him.”

As Cole walks throughout the home, he imagines the stories the house holds. A nanny rocking the baby to sleep. The butler plating dinner to serve to the family. Musicians arriving to entertain company. Guests chatting in the third-floor ballroom.

Cole sees the estate as his legacy. He has been working for six weeks to fix the house up in preparation for an open house later this month.

“I’m just glad God gave me the opportunity to do something like this,” he said.

For decades, the 5,800-square-foot classical-revival home was at the center of the social and political scene in Suffolk, hosting holiday parties for high society and fundraisers for politicians. With 21 rooms, nine fireplaces, a formal parlor, a third-floor ballroom and a raised gallery where musicians could entertain from out of sight, it was made for such gatherings.

“It’s the finest home in Suffolk,” said Sue Woodward of the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society, which has its offices across the street in the Phillips-Dawson House. She believes the Phillips family expanded its home because of the magnificence of the Truitt house.

The home, which is on the state and national registries of historic places as part of the downtown historic district, has five and a half levels on three floors. It also includes a screened-in porch, carriage house and stable.

It is constructed on a marble slab with a double-doored entryway made completely of marble. The entry is surrounded by six columns that had to be hoisted by mule teams during construction. It is supported by 24-inch steel beams and enclosed with brick walls that are 18 inches thick. Features include a reading nook, 14-foot ceilings, a separate servants’ wing and more.

The furnishings and contents tell their own story of affluence. Every room is decorated in handmade, early American furniture, Hepplewhite and Chippendale originals, fine china and crystal, original light fixtures and glass doorknobs, armies of dolls, original artwork, hundreds of knickknacks and scores of old books.

“It’s full of period furniture,” Cole said. “There’s some pieces that would make you cry, if you like antiques.”

The plumbing fixtures are advanced for their time, and the kitchen appears to have been remodeled in the ‘50s, Cole said. The woodwork in some rooms is of eye-catching curly pine, which features a distinct pattern of corkscrew grain. The steps are mahogany throughout.

The home is believed to be the only one in the state of Virginia with a staircase that continuously spirals for three floors. It was featured in “Colonial Homes” magazine in 1984, decked out lavishly for Christmas.

The task of splitting up the home’s contents fell to Cole after the home’s owner, Billie Annas, died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in January. Her husband, Jack, decided it was time to hand out his estate, so he gave the home to one child and the personal property to another.

The children decided to auction off their inheritance, Cole said. The home had been in the family since Annas’ parents, Janice and William Mahone Crumpler Jr., purchased it in 1958.

Set for Aug. 24, the open house will open to the public at 6 p.m. It will be preceded by a private reception where checks from the estate will be given to the Western Tidewater Free Clinic and the ALS Association.

Cole encourages people to come to the open house, even if they aren’t planning on buying anything.

“It’s going back in time, just to see the magnificence,” Cole said. “It’s like a museum in here.”

The auction will occur on Sept. 7-8 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. The home will be auctioned first, followed by the personal property later that evening and all the next day.

Cole declined to guess how much the home will go for or who might buy it.

“It’ll never bring, in my mind, what it’s worth,” he said. “I would hope it would be a very fine family.”

For more information on the auction, visit www.abcole.com.