Inspection:  Saturday August 4th, & Monday August 6th, 9am - 3pm.

Payment Due:  Full payment must be made no later than: Friday August 10th 2018.

Payment Methods:   We accept cash and credit cards.

$50 Bid Hold: A $50.00 hold will be placed on your card when you place your first bid for this auction. If payment is defaulted on, the credit card hold will be applied towards the 15% relisting fee.

Tax 7.25%

Removal:  All items must be removed no later than: Friday August 10th 2018.

Removal Assistance:  Buyers are solely responsible for the removal of purchased items.

Shipping:  Shipping is available on some items. Please contact us for more information before placing your bids.

If someone other than you is picking up your auction purchases, please CLICK HERE to fill out the authorization form so that we can release your items to your authorized agent.

Stirling City CA.

Stirling City >> Off of Skyway in Stirling City is the community’s historical society, a building filled with Antiques, Books, 1930s-1980s Literature, Coins, Lionel Trains, And so much more.

Right next door to the museum is the Stirling City Hotel, a building over a century old with almost as much history that has transformed multiple times throughout its existence. Though it hasn’t housed guests in years, it may once again soon be open for visitors.

When Charlotte Ann Hilgeman passed away last October, she left many friends and family members whose lives she’d impacted. She met most of her acquaintances in the area through the hotel, where she did most the cooking and cleaning herself. She also ran an attached general store, which was the only place in Stirling City for people to get dry goods and supplies.

Today, her nephew Eric Hilgeman and his wife Desi, are in the process of fixing up the historic building so that it can once again house guests.

The building was originally built by the Diamond Match Co. as a community hall where dances, meetings and even roller skating took place. With a roof that is 28 feet high and a large porch that runs around the front side of the house, it’s easy to believe that the lumber company made the building to last.

Carol Lewis, one of the board of directors of the Stirling City Historical Society, said that during the large fire of 1931, many of the places where mill workers lived burned down.

Small, square living spaces were then built in the community hall and it became a boarding house.

Charlotte had studied hotel management in college and bought the building in 1986 when she moved to Stirling City.

Due to family illness, as well as her own, Charlotte didn’t house any guests during the last decade of her life. She did however kept the general store in the lobby open until she passed away.

A combination of Charlotte’s old friends from various places she lived and word-of-mouth have kept the interest of visitors coming to stay at the hotel high.

“We still get calls every other week from people looking to stay here,” said Eric.

Currently, the two have the general store in the lobby open most days of the week while they are fixing up the rest of the hotel. Eric keeps the same shelves stocked that his aunt once did with candy, dry goods and beverages for sale. Beer sales accounted for more than half of the store revenue before Charlotte passed and Eric says that in February, they will be selling alcohol again.

In the long run, the couple has dreams of making the large counter space and lobby into a cafe for locals and visitors to enjoy.

For Eric, a Durham native, the hotel holds sentimental value as he grew up helping his father with the building’s maintenance and spent many summers staying on the property.

Community members who remember Charlotte and the hotel have been adamant about wanting to help with the rebuilding process.

“It has a lot of issues, but it’s over 100 years old so it’s gonna ... ,” Eric said.

Before any major overhaul can occur, Eric and the rest of the family are going through many of the possessions that have accumulated in the large building.

“Right now we are sorting through a lot of personal stuff, but we’re excited about all the people reaching out to help in the future,” Eric said.

The couple said that they aren’t exactly sure what the next decade will look like, but they hope that with their backgrounds in culinary arts and business they can help the hotel through another successful transformation in its long history on the ridge.