On the Block Again, but Not on EBay

EUREKA, Calif. —  The much-publicized $1.78-million online “sale” of the Humboldt County town of Bridgeville last December went nowhere, with the initial buyer disappearing within 24 hours, the owner’s real estate agent said.

“We’re not putting it on EBay again,” said Denise Stuart of California Real Estate in Eureka, who represents the town’s owner. “It was such a fiasco.”

Bridgeville’s listing by the online auction service last year generated international media attention.

The holiday publicity -- which began with a wire service story on Christmas Eve -- ignited an auction frenzy of 249 bids. Bidding closed Dec. 27 at $1.78 million, far above the minimum bid of $775,000.

Although agents continued to insist month after month that the deal was on, the buyer never materialized.

“The first guy backed out within 24 hours,” Stuart said. “It was buyers’ frenzy, then buyer’s remorse immediately afterward. It would have been really hard to justify that price, unless somebody just had money to burn.”

Stuart has refused to name the initial buyer other than to say he is from the West Coast.

Michael Guerriero, a Bridgeville artist, said he and other townspeople had been skeptical from the start about the EBay sale when they saw the glowing description of the town on the Internet.

“It was a little bit ridiculous when we started looking at the ad and comparing it to the town itself,” he said. “It cast doubt on that sale.”

Though surrounded by spectacular natural beauty, including the Van Duzen River and forests of redwoods, the town itself -- population 20 -- needs considerable work.

Located on California Highway 36, about an hour from Eureka and 260 miles north of San Francisco, it includes nine parcels of land, with eight houses, four cabins, a post office, a restaurant, a machine shop, a historic cemetery and a few Quonset huts.

But several of the buildings are uninhabitable, the machine shop and the restaurant are not operating and the water system needs a new well.

Last week, Stuart put Bridgeville back on the market for what she called a more “realistic” price: $850,000.

The once-thriving community, built around the logging industry, is owned by antiques dealer Elizabeth Lapple, whose mother, also named Elizabeth, bought it in 1972. Lapple declined to comment, except to say that the family still hoped to sell.

Owners of other towns, inspired by Bridgeville’s apparent success, also tried listing their properties on EBay.

The towns of Carlotta, just down the road from Bridgeville; Platina in Shasta County; and Danville, Nev., have come and gone online. Those towns never received sufficient bids.

The San Bernardino County town of Amboy, on old Route 66, may have found a buyer, said its agent, but not through its EBay listing.

Meanwhile, would-be sellers continue to use EBay. Last week, Tortilla Flat, Ariz., and Monse, Wash., were being advertised by the online service.

“We’ve gotten quite a few inquiries,” said Sherri Pack, a real estate agent for Tortilla Flat. “As of right now, it’s still available.”