Smallest town in America fetches $900K at auction

LOS ANGELES • Billed as the smallest town in America, Buford, Wyoming, was sold at auction Thursday for $900,000 to a Vietnamese national who wants to remain anonymous, the seller said.

Twenty-five bidders signed for the auction, held online and on-site, of the town with its threebedroom house, school, gas station and several other buildings.

Buford’s last inhabitant and the owner of the buildings, Don Sammons, said the package went to a man from Ho Chi Minh City. “He actually flew here from Vietnam. He was on site,” Sammons said.

The winner had to battle it out with bidders from Hong Kong, New York, Florida, Kansas and Wyoming, with the bidding starting at $100,000. Some called in their offers by phone but about 20 people were on site.

The buyer will get 10 acres of land. Besides the house, a garage, cabin and barn, the property includes a cellphone tower and a parking lot that a trucking company uses to switch trailers at night.

The former railroad stop once was home to about 2,000 people. But they started moving away after train service ended, until the sign at the entrance to town read, “Buford. Population: 1.”