Bridgeville, California
Bridgeville, California
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Bridgeville, California

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Bridgeville, California

Bridgeville (formerly Robinsons Ferry and Bridgeport) is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California, United States. It is located 12 miles (19 km) north-northeast of Weott, at an elevation of 636 feet (194 m). Bridgeville is 260 mi (420 km) north of San Francisco, with a population of about 25.

Originally called Robinsons Crossing, it was renamed Bridgeport when a bridge was built across the Van Duzen River in 1875. The post office rejected Bridgeport as a name because of another Bridgeport (in Mono County), and the Bridgeville post office opened in 1877. Robinsons Crossing was named in honor of William Slaughter Robinson, a local rancher.

One of the first settlers was Salmon Brown, a Merino sheep farmer, son of John Brown the abolitionist. To rescue his mother Mary from hostility to Brown in Red Bluff, in 1870 he sold his ranch near Corning, California, and bought one near Bridgeville. Mary and her daughters moved nearby, to Rohnerville. In 1893 he moved to Portland, Oregon.

The 83-acre (340,000 m2) town became famous in 2002 for being the first in history to be put up for auction on eBay. It was originally sold for $1.77m but the buyer backed out of the deal only for it to be bought by businessman Bruce Krall for $700,000.

Krall put the town up for sale again in 2006 for a starting price of $1.75m. According to the BBC News website, the price included three cows, eight houses, and a post office.

Los Angeles-based entertainment manager and college student Daniel Thomas La Paille, 25, purchased the town on August 3, 2006 from Krall. La Paille paid $1.25 million, the money coming from his own entertainment management work as well as from his mother and grandmother.

In an interview with the Times-Standard, La Paille said, "[Community] is very important in every aspect. We all have to live together. Bridgeville is going to be an example. We're going to ... show that we can be environmentally conscious, good neighbors and just create a special little community."

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office, Daniel La Paille committed suicide on November 9, 2006. The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest.

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