The town of Pulga, CA went up for sale. The asking price is $449,000. What do you get? History and 62 acres of land along the North Fork of the Feather River. There is an old school house and four other structures that are livable among others that aren't. Pulga means "flea" in Spanish and the Flea Valley Creek runs behind Pulga.
As with most towns in this area, Pulga first came into existence due to gold. It was founded in 1885 as a gold mining/placer town. As with most of these boom towns, Pulga went bust pretty quickly as well. Actually, I don't think you can really consider Pulga a boom town really because it never became a place that drew many folks. There were other areas where more gold was being found.
It's only 1398 feet in elevation. The elevation at my house in Paradise is 1600 feet. I'll put up a screen cap of where Pulga is located compared to Paradise. It's quite close as you'll see. Actually it's only about 30 miles away. I'll include both the 2D map and the Earth view map. Pulga is where that red spike-thing is on the upper right and Paradise, CA is on the left of the screen caps.
Pulga was last bought in 1994 by Lorraine Paloma from San Francisco who wanted to get out of the rat race of the Bay Area in exchange for an alternate lifestyle. She was 55 years old and bought it with money she'd gotten in a divorce for $200,000. Eight people moved to Pulga with her and founded the Mystic Valley Retreat.
Believe it or not, it was actually a destination for people from all across the nation and Canada who came for the solitude of the place to hang out, swim in the river and hike. The big draw was getting hypnotherapy sessions done by Fred Leidecker. Today he and Lorraine are the only two still living there. They are both in their mid-70's and realize they can't keep living there long term anymore.
View from Pulga of the "Pulga Bridges" The top bridge is for Highway 70 and the bottom one is the train bridge
During the past 20 years these two upgraded the town, but a flood caused a number of creek-side cabins to be condemned while a mudslide destroyed one home over the years and a big tree fell onto another. At their age they just can't do the upkeep anymore. They are really sad to have to sell it and leave, but age has caused reality to take root. It's really a sweet place with a number of apple, pear and peach trees. The sidepockets drive past it every time they go to visit their daughter in Quincy, CA, though I doubt they know that.
cabins along Flea Valley Creek that were flooded in 1997
motorcycle driving past the sauna in Pulga, CA
After the short-lived gold mining/placer days it became a staging place for men who where building the railroad, the highway and all the tunnels and bridges those required as they wind up the canyon along the Feather River.
Pulga once had a post office and saloon. The founders terraced the hillside for farming and tapped into springs for water. There is even a sauna which still stands to this day. Lorraine and Peter say there are buildings and shacks that are salvageable while others aren't and believe it's a perfect place for a person with a little money and elbow grease to really revive this little town into a nice place.
It would be ideal for someone who has the wherewithal to put in solar power and hydropower as well. It could easily be totally off the grid. There are abundant acres of land with sun-facing exposures that would be perfect for farming especially since the water source is stable due to springs and the Flea Valley Creek running through Pulga itself. You'd have to contend with the sound of the train that passes through daily as well as occasional hikers and swimmers that come by from time to time. Just 23 miles farther up Highway 70 is Belden, CA which is traversed by the Pacific Crest Trail.
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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