Buying Acreage in Trinity County, California

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By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS staff
Homesteaders share about buying acreage in Trinity County, California.

Information on buying acreage in Trinity County, California and creating a thriving homestead.

Buying Acreage in Trinity County, California

In 1963 my wife (Carol) and I bought 20 acres of wooded land in northern California’s Trinity County, near Weaverville. It took us a full ten years to muster the courage to cut our city ties and move to that mountain property . . . but we finally did it. (The decision was easy to make when Carol — who was more than ready for the switch — finally said to me: “Either we move onto that land or we sell it!” Naturally, we moved.)

Our private Eden is a remote tract of :crest located at the end of two miles of dirt road that climbs to an elevation of 3,300 feet. Those “in the know” shook their heads when we announced our intention of establishing a year-round home back in the woods. “Too much snow, poor road, no power, and no water,” we were told.

As it turned out, our biggest obstacle — initially — was not the snow, the road, or the lack of utilities, but the building codes. The Powers That Be had laid down so many strictures governing log home construction that I finally decided to sell the raw timber I’d planned to build with and use the money to buy framing lumber for an 800 square-foot chalet.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1977
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