Timber Firm Sells Company Town of Samoa

This tiny Northern California coastal town has been sold, though exactly who now owns the town remains a mystery.

Seattle-based Simpson Timber Co. announced Monday that it had reached an agreement with the buyer after a sealed-bid auction.

Simpson attracted dozens of potential buyers with its asking price of at least $1.75 million for one of the last company towns in the West.

The sale includes the historic Samoa Cookhouse, a two-story, logging camp-era dining hall that seats 500; 98 redwood-clad houses that still depend on wood stoves for heat; an 11-room Victorian inn; the town’s fire hall, complete with ballroom, bar and kitchen; and the “Samoa Block,” a rambling two-story structure that originally housed the town’s butcher shop, mercantile store, restaurant and community theater.

The buyer, who won’t be identified until the deal closes in about 60 days, plans to maintain the historic nature of the town, where 300 people still live, while making improvements to its commercial core and homes, Simpson spokeswoman Maureen Frisch told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.