You could own a piece of Dolly Parton history… for a cool nearly $2 million.
Her former retreat in Solvang, California, located in the Santa Ynez Valley, has hit the market for $1,995,000, according to Noozhawk, and it’s utterly charming and full of that signature Dolly flair. From the front door on, you can see her touches everywhere, as the front of the house features a small windmill and a stained glass window on top of the front door that says “Dolly,” with her signature butterfly symbol next to it.
The adorable cottage was built in 1920, and the current owner, Cris Lapp, a real estate broker with Black Oak Homes and Mortgages, would love to sell it to a Dolly fan:
“That is just me, I want a mega fan.”
If only I had $2 million laying around…
Parton owned the home for 10 years, after purchasing it in 2004, according to the listing it featured a “wig room” (iconic), only adding to the unique touches of the property. It sounds like there’s more than one unit too, which at the time Dolly owned the property, was used for her team to stay in when they were there:
“Own a piece of music history with the Dolly Parton’s former retreat home and two rental units, a rare Hollywood legacy located in the heart of Solvang at 561 Alisal Road. This one-of-a-kind property features the country legend’s original, authentic ‘Wig Room.’
The versatile layout spans approximately 2,500 total square feet and includes a 1,000 sq. ft. front residence (3BD/2BA), a 1,000 sq. ft. upper rear unit (3BD/2BA), and a 500 sq. ft. lower unit (1BD/0.75BA), all featuring private patios and off-street parking. Perfectly positioned on a 0.26-acre corner lot near world-class tasting rooms and restaurants, this property offers the ultimate blend of convenience, privacy, and provenance.”
The inside of the property was also full of hints that Parton was once there. Lapp used to live in the back house and said that upstairs was Parton’s makeup room, wig room and a dressing room area. Dolly usually used the quaint home as a weekend retreat on the seemingly pretty rare occasion she was there:
“Neighbors and people that would tend to the house before she came up, would come by and talk to me and said she would come up with her crew. She used it as a weekend retreat, I guess.”
Lapp says he found some of Dolly’s personal belongings in the basement when he moved in, including “western-themed home furnishings” and plenty of hearts”:
“She loved wooden angels and wooden tulips, which I have a lot of. There’s a lot of stenciling of little hearts and stuff inside the unit.”
While there were rumors for years about whether or not Dolly actually owned this home throughout the town for years, Lapp says he finally confirmed it during escrow when he got a more detailed look at all of the paperwork besides just the title, because her name did not appear on the property title, which isn’t uncommon for big celebrities when it comes to purchasing properties:
“When a famous person owns a house, what they do is they scrub the title, meaning they don’t have any information on the title report. I was like ‘well that seems really weird.’”
Lapp took it upon himself to restore the property, and he added the windmill and added the stained glass making it all the more whimsical in an effort for people to remember the very special history of the property:
“I wanted to make sure she didn’t get erased from it, and I think Solvang needs more stuff for people to do.”
Some locals question whether Dolly ever lived there or visited much at all, and it’s believed that it was more of an investment property that members of her family would occasionally use.
While Dolly never lived there full-time, she did own the property at one point, and honestly, if she was ever there, she knows how to lay low when she wants to and I wouldn’t be surprised if people just never figured it out.
In addition to the property’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom front home, it also has a three-bedroom, two-bathroom upper rear unit and a one-bedroom, three-quarter-bathroom lower unit. Each unit has its own private, enclosed patio, according to the listing.
It’s really a cute property with a ton of curb appeal, and you can see photos below.
