By Sheila Corson
Chronicle staff

     Many people dream about owning their own home, but how about owning a town?
     For Daphne Fletcher, owning Wauconda was a dream come true. Now, she said, it's time to pass the dream on. Wauconda is for sale at a $1,125,000 price.
     Fletcher said whoever takes the deal will own all the commercial buildings in the unincorporated town, leaving out only the old school building and community hall.
     "Commerce establishes a community," Fletcher said.
     Of those five commercial units, three are leased out and would bring in $2,400 per month for whoever owns them. The owner of Wauconda also will run two of those business - the general store and Grandma's Candy Store, the regional distributing company, she said.
     Fletcher started out running only the distributing company, originally based out of Oroville. While living in Chesaw, she said she networked with all the stores in the area, including the Wauconda General Store.
     When the previous owners of Wauconda were ready to sell, they told Fletcher she should do it. With help from her brother and a friend - both of whom have left - Fletcher said she jumped in, bought Wauconda, acquired investors, moved the distribution company to Wauconda and got to work on the town.
     In the two years she has owned the town, Fletcher said she has mostly spent her time cleaning up and giving the town a major facelift. What had been a "100-year landfill" in some areas was hauled away, she said.
     As for the business aspect, Fletcher said she brought in a new owner for the Wauconda Cafe, put up a new building for the general store, brought in DVD rentals and soon will open an antique and gift shop, probably next month.
     But the commercial buildings aren't the only part of the deal. The owner of Wauconda also gets a three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch house connected to the commercial buildings on four fenced acres.
     The house also features a three-stall barn with tack room, five tons of hay storage and a creek. The original, 100-year-old log cabin homestead is now a garage and workshop.
     The work has been hard, Fletcher said, and it gets overwhelming at times keeping up with her schedule.
     Responsibilities are huge, with everything from cosmetic upkeep to making sure the gas tanks are full every week, she said.
     However, Fletcher said she thinks the job would be perfect for a big family with parents wanting to be home with their children, and having a choice of three school districts and lots to do on the ranch.
     "I really believe this would be a dream come true for a family," Fletcher said.
     There has been a lot of interest in the town, Fletcher said, but added it will take the right owners to be able to do the job. And the possibilities for what the job looks like are limitless, she said.
     Fletcher said she hopes one day to see the town incorporated, so that it can get some federal funding to build a fire station (the closest is about 15 miles away). Besides that, she said she has visions of a farmers' market, and motel or campground.
     With all that open land, just about anything is possible, she said.
     Owners of the new antique and gift store are looking to start some of that expansion. The store will take consignments from area artists and craftsmen, Fletcher said.
     And although the experiences have been fun and Fletcher said she feels she's had real success in making Wauconda even better, the best part of living there is being part of the close-knit community.
     Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night various members of the community gather in homes to have musical jam sessions. The group is getting large enough that it probably will move into the community hall on Fridays, Fletcher said.
     And in all the changes she's made, she's found a lot of community help and support, including that from neighbor Rep. Joel Kretz, who helped with the gas tanks, among other things.
     With all her experiences, Fletcher said she's considered writing a book about owning a small town.
     In a small community everyone knows everything about everyone and it's hard to please everyone, Fletcher said with a laugh. But, she added, "I'm blessed to have a wonderful community. That's been a dream of mine, too."
     Because of that, Fletcher said she plans on staying nearby. "I planted 30 trees and I want to watch them grow."
     And having lived all over the nation, Fletcher said she's found Wauconda is the most beautiful area in which to live.
     For anyone interested in town ownership, but thinking it would take too much, Fletcher offered some advice: "If you have a dream and just focus on it, everything will fall into place."
     More information on buying Wauconda can be found at www.waucondastore.com. Oroville Realty is handling the listing and can be reached at 476-2555 or www.orovillerealty.com.