Sometimes self-promotion works — especially when the subject of the two emails and a phone call from Williams & Williams is just this cute.
Buford, Wyoming, population 1, is up for sale. Yes, the entire town.
The self-proclaimed “mayor” of the tiny town, Don Sammons, decided to retire after 20 years in the town and sell the 10-acre town, which includes The Buford Trading Post, a three-bedroom home, a 1905 schoolhouse, a garage, a 1900s cabin and its own ZIP code.
The Buford Trading Post offers snacks, beer, 24-hour gas and some fun souvenirs, including t-shirts, whistles made from elk antlers and stick pens. As the press releases are keen to point out, the town is “income producing” drawing profit from the trading post, and a Union Wireless cell tower with a lease.
Buford was once a comparatively booming town, reaching a population of about 2,000 during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad in Wyoming. Those folks picked up and left with the railroad, and the population eventually dwindled down year-by-year leaving Sammons, his wife and his son. His wife died a few years back, and his son grew up and moved on, leaving Buford with a population of 1 and the title of the nation’s smallest town.
The town’s website posted a “for sale by owner” blog on Aug. 19 of 2011, and the town will go up for auction by Williams & Williams on April 5. The auction will have a nominal opening bid of $100,000.
jhuseman@housingwire.com