If you've ever wanted to own a bar, a music venue, and the surrounding forested canyon—population about 15—there's a listing in Northern California with your name on it. Writing at SFGate, Julie Brown Davis reports that Belden, an unincorporated spot in the Feather River Canyon of the Sierra Nevada, is on the market for $4.75 million. The seller: 87-year-old gold miner Ivan Coffman, who first came for the nuggets in 1970, never went back to his masonry job, and eventually bought the place in 1989.
"I fell in love with the Canyon and the Feather River," Coffman told the Plumas Sun in July. "There's just nothing like this scenic highway. I've met travelers from all over the world and been able to run a successful business to thousands." Since his purchase, he's rebuilt the former mining camp into Belden Town Resort and Lodge, a quirky four-acre riverside compound that caters to Pacific Crest Trail hikers, motorcyclists, and summer music-festival crowds. "It's been a wonderful 25 years," he said, "but I'm ready to retire and pass the reins to the next owner."
The sale (official site here) includes the lodge with a bar, restaurant, store, cabins, RV spots, and assorted oddities, all wedged between the river and a rail line in a canyon scarred by the 2021 Dixie Fire. Coffman, who still pans for gold most days, says it's time to move on after the death of his son, who helped defend Belden from those flames. For photos, history, and what it might mean to be the unofficial "mayor" of a place that's not officially a town, read the full story at SFGate.
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