Town For Sale of the Day

Town For Sale of the Day: Don Sammons -- the sole resident of Buford, Wyoming -- is putting the entire town up for auction.

With a starting bid of $100,000, the smallest town in America could conceivably be yours for less than the cost of an average home.

Buford, which once boasted some 2,000 residents, has seen its population steadily decline since the Transcontinental Railroad was rerouted. Sammons moved to the southeast Wyoming community from Los Angeles in 1980 along with his family. As the years past, relatives went elsewhere, leaving Sammons alone to run the local trading post.

"It was a great life for me and for my family," said Sammons, who is himself now ready to move on.

The person or persons who buy Buford will be getting a pretty sweet deal: In addition to the trading post, prospective residents will also receive a gas station, a schoolhouse, a cabin, a garage, and a three-bedroom home.

But wait, there's more: The whole shebang sits on 10 acres of land 8,000 feet above sea level, making Buford the highest town along I-80, and giving it a uniquely magnificent view of the Rocky Mountains.

The auction is scheduled for April 5th at noon.

[ap / theatlantic / photo: flickr.]