The World Famous Redwood Log House Motorhome Is for Sale
Culture
Oddities
Classics
American
Over the years, an endless stream of distinctive motorhomes - opens in new window or tab. and travel trailers - opens in new window or tab. have crossed the block at eBay Motors. But when it comes to sheer size, deep roots, and undeniable uniqueness, nothing measures up to the World Famous Redwood Log House, recently offered on eBay Motors for a Buy-It-Now price of $11.5 million.
Exclusivity has its price.
In 1939, at the end of the Great Depression, James Allen—a lumberjack working for Georgia-Pacific in Northern California—turned a healthy slice of a 1900-year-old redwood tree into a remarkable three-room house.
After felling the enormous tree and cutting the log, it took Allen four months to hollow it out with hand tools and 18 months to convert it into a home. The redwood tree was indeed a giant, measuring 267 feet high, with a 14-foot wide stump.
Allen spent seven years living in the house before strapping the giant log onto a trailer and hitting the road. The World Famous Redwood Log House was on exhibit for over 70 years.
One-of-a-Kind Trailer Home Concept
The log home has a comfy bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The unorthodox dwelling is wired, but not plumbed. While the kitchen lacks most modern amenities, it’s equipped with a refrigerator, a hot plate, and a two-seat dinette. As one might expect, the walls and built-in cabinets are made of hand-varnished redwood.
The story is documented in Fox Business Network's Strange Inheritance.
Allen's son, James Jr., inherited the Redwood Log House in the late 1950s. James Jr. met his soon-to-be wife on a road trip to the Calgary Stampede, - opens in new window or tab. an annual rodeo and festival.
The log house was subsequently inherited by James Jr.'s granddaughter, Jamie Allen, in 1985, when she was 23 years old.
A New Owner Awaits
Over the years, this gargantuan three-room beauty visited carnivals and fairs in every US state, except for Hawaii and Alaska. But the recent rise in fuel prices has taken its toll.
At four miles per gallon, Jamie Allen's vintage Mack Truck is expensive to operate. So after more than a half a century crisscrossing America on a flatbed trailer, the Redwood Log House is looking for a forever home.
President Johnson signed The Redwood National Park Act - opens in new window or tab. on October 2, 1968, curtailing the harvest of giant redwood trees. So it's safe to say we'll never see a new Redwood Log House.
The log from which James Allen built the home was the fourth cut from the tree in 1939.
eBay Motors hosts an extensive and ever-changing assortment of towable campers, from tiny teardrop trailers - opens in new window or tab. to gleaming stainless steel Airstreams - opens in new window or tab.. But all of those beauties rolled out of a factory, not a forest. As a one-of-a-kind phenomena, the World Famous Redwood Log House needs to be properly preserved for generations to come.
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