Entire town goes up for sale offering the chance for everyday Americans to ‘be your own mayor’… and it’s sitting on golden treasure
Belden, a small former Gold Rush settlement in California’s Sierra Nevada, is on the market for $4.75 million, giving a buyer the chance to own most of an unusual riverside town. Its 87-year-old owner, Ivan Coffman, is selling after 56 years there; the sale matters because the property combines a historic settlement, visitor business and the possibility of further gold finds.
The package includes a lodge, restaurant and bar, general store, cabins, a swimming hole, a former schoolhouse and a stretch of the Feather River, alongside a community of 15 residents. Coffman first visited in 1970 and says he found about 50 ounces of gold in a week, when it was worth roughly $35 an ounce; at the article’s cited current price of about $4,400 an ounce, that quantity would be worth around $220,000. He remains a local gold miner but is ready to leave the mountain settlement he made his home and business.
- Belden, California, is listed for $4.75 million.
- The sale includes a lodge, cabins and river access.
- Owner Ivan Coffman says he found 50 ounces of gold in 1970.
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Belden is a small settlement in California's Sierra Nevada mountains that developed during the Gold Rush era. Its owner of 56 years, 87-year-old Ivan Coffman, has put the entire town on the market for $4.75 million, giving a buyer the unusual opportunity to own most of a functioning riverside community.
The sale package includes a lodge, restaurant and bar, general store, and cabins, along with access to the Feather River and various historic buildings including a former schoolhouse. About 15 people currently live in the town as residents, and the new owner would effectively control the settlement's future.
The property appeals partly because of its Gold Rush heritage and partly because of the real possibility of finding more gold. Coffman himself discovered substantial quantities of gold during his time there, and modern prices make such discoveries potentially valuable. The combination of historic significance, existing business operations, and mineral potential is what makes this sale noteworthy rather than a straightforward real estate transaction.