The custom-built desert California ranch Johnny Cash once used as a retreat, came and went from the open market this summer. The Ventura County property appeared with a $1.8 million asking price in June and departing again in the last week of August. It closed at fifty thousand dollars above ask.

The modest 5.61-acre compound in Casitas Springs was Cash’s domestic hideaway for much of the 1960s, by all accounts a tough period for the Man in Black. The hillside house and landscape was designed to be a reminder of less complicated times, and its location allowed it an enormous privacy buffer just as its general layout promoted relaxation and simple comforts, and a profound and unassailable sense of home to be shared with first wife Vivian.

The estate’s driveway evokes space, distance and rurality, a long climb to the home that reveals breathing room via a long narrative of countryside. Interiors are open, bright and unpretentious; lots of glass, a nearly open-concept living area, and abundant warmth by way of red brick, terra-cotta tile, and timber ceilings. The house contains five bedrooms and five baths, including a master that opens to the poolside patio.

The outdoor amenities on the property include a brick BBQ. But space is the primary, and the estate’s hillside location and acreage encourage quiet meandering.