BRIDGEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The first town ever auctioned on EBay — and later sold on the online auction site a second time — is back on the market after the hamlet’s latest owner committed suicide.
A real estate agent handling the sale confirmed Friday that the tiny Northern California town of Bridgeville, population about 30, is on the market for $1.3 million.
The dilapidated village on the Van Duzen River gained international notoriety five years ago, when its 83 acres were put on the cyber-auction block — the first town ever up for auction on EBay.
Daniel La Paille, 25, a Los Angeles entertainment manager and college student, bought Bridgeville in August 2006 for $1.25 million from Orange County banker Bruce Krall.
Mr. Krall had purchased the town for $700,000 after the buyer in the original 2002 EBay auction backed out. Mr. Krall re-listed the town on EBay last year.
Mr. La Paille brought in work crews to repair many of the town’s homes and began building a park. But in November, Mr. La Paille shot himself in the chest, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, and town improvement efforts soon faltered.
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