A 19th-century California settlement with a lodge, restaurant, cabins and its own stretch of river has been put on the market for $4.75 million, offering a buyer the chance to take control of the Sierra Nevada outpost of Belden.
The property includes the Belden Town Resort and Lodge, a bar, general store, swimming hole, gardens, former schoolhouse, mechanic’s garage and a collection of trailers and recreational vehicles. Around 15 people live in the settlement.
Its 87-year-old owner, Ivan Coffman, is selling after 56 years in the mountain community, where he built a home and business after first arriving in search of gold.
“I love the town, I love the area, it has so much to offer, I’ve been living and mining here for many many years,” Coffman said.
The settlement lies in a dramatic canyon between forested mountains, the Feather River and a railway line. Its riverside lodge has decking overlooking the water, a feature Coffman described as one of Belden’s best-kept attractions.
“We have a lodge that has decking on the back of the river and the fresh canyon air, I love to sit out there and watch the river go by,” he said.
Belden’s gold rush beginnings
Coffman’s connection with Belden began in 1970, when he was a young masonry worker from Fresno taking a week away from work. He followed the Feather River and stopped near the point where Yellow Creek meets it before exploring upstream.
There, he said, he found gold nuggets scattered through the gravel. Coffman returned to his truck, collected a five-gallon bucket and began filling it with pebble-sized pieces of the precious metal.
He estimated that he recovered about 50 ounces during that week. Gold was then worth roughly $35 an ounce, while the same amount would be worth about $220,000 at prices of around $4,400 an ounce.
Rather than return to his former life, Coffman stayed. He became a jeweller and lender, making necklaces and rings while continuing to prospect in the surrounding country.
He eventually bought Belden in 1989, by which time the former Gold Rush settlement had declined sharply. About 1,000 people had once lived in the canyon as prospectors arrived seeking fortunes in the Feather River, but much of the activity had since faded.
A fire in the 1970s destroyed many of the original buildings and left the settlement derelict. Coffman spent decades rebuilding it, creating the unusual collection of buildings and businesses now being offered as one package.
The two-storey lodge is at the centre of the property. Its restaurant and bar are filled with curiosities, including taxidermy, antique bottles, artwork, a vintage slot machine, a leather saddle and a human-sized rooster.
Brightly painted cabins sit beneath the trees, while murals and hand-painted signs give the site the appearance of a Wild West film set. An old schoolhouse is being reclaimed by vegetation, and an abandoned telephone booth is covered in stickers.
A California settlement with a loyal following
Belden has retained a following among travellers despite its small permanent population. Pacific Crest Trail hikers pass through, motorcyclists stop during rides through the Lost Sierra and summer music festivals can draw thousands of visitors to the canyon.
The community has also endured difficult years. Dams turned sections of the Feather River into hydroelectric reservoirs, while falling fish populations and a struggling local economy contributed to Belden’s decline.
In 2021, the Dixie Fire swept through the surrounding region and destroyed the nearby town of Greenville. Belden was threatened, but Coffman’s son and several employees stayed to help protect the property.
Coffman had planned to leave the town to his son, who died earlier this year following health complications. A garden beside a gazebo now serves as a memorial, and Coffman said it contained “a lot of memories we were able to share through the years”.
Father and son hiked in the hills and shared a passion for prospecting. “We would set off dredging even when my son was very young,” Coffman said.
After scattering his son’s ashes in the stream they had treasured, Coffman decided it was time to leave Belden. He plans to move to Quincey, about 30 minutes away, rather than leave the area entirely.
Josie Litchfield, a friend helping to market the property, joked: “Who wants to be the next mayor of Belden Town?”
For Coffman, however, the most important part of the settlement is not its gold, lodge or unusual buildings. Asked what he would miss most, he said: “Oh, all the people you meet over the years,” adding, “everyone knows everyone for sure.”
He still believes there may be more gold beneath the settlement and in the surrounding country.
