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California town auctioned on eBay up for sale yet again (Bridgeville, pop. "about 30")
North County Times / AP ^ | July 1, 2007

Posted on 07/01/2007 10:27:03 PM PDT by Stoat

California town auctioned on eBay up for sale yet again

BRIDGEVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- A Northern California town put up for auction twice on eBay is on sale again after the hamlet's latest owner committed suicide.

A real estate agent handling the sale confirmed Friday that the tiny Humboldt County town of Bridgeville, population about 30, is on the market for $1.3 million.

The picturesque but dilapidated village on the Van Duzen River gained international notoriety five years ago when its 83 acres were put on the cyber-auction block -- the first town ever up for auction on eBay.

 

The town, which was once a hub for a local stagecoach route and a stop on the Pony Express, includes eight houses, a post office, and a cafe.

Daniel La Paille, 25, a Los Angeles entertainment manager and college student, bought Bridgeville in August 2006 for $1.25 million from Orange County banker Bruce Krall.

Krall had purchased the former timber town for $700,000 after the buyer in the original 2002 eBay auction backed out. Krall re-listed the town on eBay last year, saying he couldn't continue to afford making restorations.

La Paille raised hopes among residents when he brought in work crews to repair many of the town's homes and began building a park. But in November, La Paille shot himself in the chest in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's office, and improvement efforts soon faltered.

"When Daniel passed away it was just so devastating," said Rose Valentine, who lives just outside town. "(Bridgeville) is kind of looking pretty shabby again. It's pretty sad."

The burden of maintaining the town has proved too difficult for La Paille's family, said Bruce McNaughton, the real estate agent handling the sale.

The family will likely lose money in the transaction, he said.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: bridgeville; ca; california; realestate; vikingkittyheaven
Photos of the town

Bridgeville California

 

FR thread on last year's sale:

California Town On Sale On eBay

This thread may also be of interest

Alaska Town Giving Away Free Land (26- 1.3 acre lots in Anderson, pop. 300)

1 posted on 07/01/2007 10:27:05 PM PDT by Stoat
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To: Stoat
If they sold it for $1, I'd buy... and build a resort getaway for the obscenely rich.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

2 posted on 07/01/2007 10:29:44 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives In My Heart Forever)
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To: goldstategop

..alot of pot and magic mushrooms up in them thar hills..


3 posted on 07/01/2007 10:34:00 PM PDT by NorCalRepub
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To: Stoat

Population “about 30”, what the heck does that mean? They can’t count that high without approximations?


4 posted on 07/01/2007 10:48:00 PM PDT by Third Order
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To: Third Order
Population “about 30”, what the heck does that mean? They can’t count that high without approximations?

Perhaps it means that some people own property or a home there but are not fulltime residents?  Just a guess.

It is strange, isn't it?  You'll notice that they were far more definite when specifying the population of this Alaska town:

Alaska Town Giving Away Free Land (26- 1.3 acre lots in Anderson, pop. 300)

5 posted on 07/01/2007 10:52:49 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Baynative
I think Alec Baldwin’s wife bought a town in Tennessee a few years ago ...what do you do when you “own” a town?

Well, for Kim Basinger, I would think that it would be just so that she could have something to talk about at boring Hollywood cocktail parties....she could talk about how she "....bought this little redneck town, isn't that funny?"  and her fantastically wealthy and famous but breathtakingly unintelligent 'friends' would titter with laughter and be all the more impressed with her.

For anyone else, I would think that it could possibly be a way of putting your own ideas to work in the real world in many ways.  For example, you could probably write a 'town Constitution' or perhaps enact some laws or covenants that you think would be beneficial.  I don't know how this all sits in the legal arena and so I don't know how far you can go, but I would imagine that you could see many of your ideas come to life.  The previous owner started to build a park, as an example.

7 posted on 07/01/2007 11:16:42 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Baynative

...incorporate and levy taxes?


8 posted on 07/01/2007 11:30:29 PM PDT by mamelukesabre
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To: Stoat

Fron the pictures it looks idylic, not down on its luck. A small town in the woods with water and trees and ....

Don’t think we have the full story here, or all the pictures.


9 posted on 07/01/2007 11:32:49 PM PDT by bajabaja
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To: bajabaja
Fron the pictures it looks idylic, not down on its luck. A small town in the woods with water and trees and ....

Don’t think we have the full story here, or all the pictures.

I have no doubt that the pictures were chosen carefully in an effort to show the town at it's best.

From the article:

"When Daniel passed away it was just so devastating," said Rose Valentine, who lives just outside town. "(Bridgeville) is kind of looking pretty shabby again. It's pretty sad."

I'm sure that houses are in pretty bad shape, as well as much of the infrastructure.  Still, you get 83 acres and a unique opportunity for $1.3 Million, or thereabouts.

Probably worth a look-see if you're in the market for that sort of thing.

10 posted on 07/01/2007 11:39:35 PM PDT by Stoat (Rice / Coulter 2008: Smart Ladies for a Strong America)
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To: Stoat
1.75 million, according to the ebay profile. Quite a jump from the 1.3 million in the article. What suddenly changed to make it worth 400k more? Got me.

The land use details also bother me; the area is under zoning, and a general plan, which means there's someone you're going to have to deal with when you decide to do things, and odds are, they'll rezone in an instant if it looks like you've got a good thing going.

11 posted on 07/02/2007 12:18:36 AM PDT by kingu (No, I don't use sarcasm tags - it confuses people.)
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To: kingu
Oh, and an ultraliberal auction house is running the sale, so purchase will benefit the wackaloons. Lovely.

Also the picturesque bridge in the imagines is unused now, with the obviously new highway bridge, and I've just this sneaking feeling that one of the first tasks of the new landowner is to get rid of a couple million tons of concrete.

The full disclosure on this sale must be incredible.

12 posted on 07/02/2007 12:24:10 AM PDT by kingu (No, I don't use sarcasm tags - it confuses people.)
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To: Baynative

One thing you don’t do is raise taxes.


13 posted on 07/02/2007 12:30:24 AM PDT by fish hawk (The religion of Darwinism = Monkey Intellect)
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To: Stoat
Trivia: I worked on that bridge in the pictures and caught the worst case of poison oak that I ever had. That country is beautiful but full of poison oak. (as a young man I worked for Cal trans on the bridge crew)
14 posted on 07/02/2007 12:35:36 AM PDT by fish hawk (The religion of Darwinism = Monkey Intellect)
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To: kingu

I doubt it. All the bridges in Calif. are owned by the State. That is why as a state employee, at the time, was working on it. (as are the roads and highways)For example, highway 101 runs directly through the center of Eureka Calif. and it as well as the stoplights and everything else is State owned.


15 posted on 07/02/2007 12:41:14 AM PDT by fish hawk (The religion of Darwinism = Monkey Intellect)
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To: Stoat

http://www.wordsareimportant.com/bridgefest.htm

I love the flying saucer contest...


16 posted on 07/02/2007 12:46:54 AM PDT by kingu (No, I don't use sarcasm tags - it confuses people.)
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To: fish hawk
All the bridges in Calif. are owned by the State.

False. I happen to own one of them. In fact, I have a picture of it:

Bought it from a guy, the previous owner, named Seymour Butts. He told me he wanted to retire, which is why he sold it. I'm thinking of giving it a new paint job, such as a new color. What do you suggest?

17 posted on 07/02/2007 8:36:39 PM PDT by lowbridge (If You’re Gonna Burn Our Flag, Wrap Yourself in It First /No Oil for Pacifists)
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To: lowbridge

If that’s the bridge I think it is, pink or rainbow might be appropriate. LOL


18 posted on 07/02/2007 8:40:26 PM PDT by fish hawk (The religion of Darwinism = Monkey Intellect)
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