updated 4:36 PM EDT, Thu April 5, 2012
Don Sammons lived in Buford for near 32 years and is moving to be close to his son.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Two businessmen from Vietnam buy the nation's least populous town
- Buford, Wyoming, sold for $900,000
- The identities of the buyers are being kept secret
- The lot includes 10 acres, five buildings and a cell phone tower
About a dozen bidders gathered around the town's one business to bid on Buford, Wyoming, which consists of a gas station, a three-bedroom house and a few small outbuildings on 10 acres along Interstate 80.
The bidding began at $100,000 and quickly escalated. The winning bidders were immediately whisked away by auction officials, who would not let them speak to the media.
The town's only resident, Don Sammons, watched from the sidelines. He moved to Buford in 1980 with his wife and son. His wife died in 1995, and his son moved away in 2007. He had bought the town in 1990.
He fought back tears as the auctioneer declared the town sold.
"I don't know when it will hit me. I've lived here half my life. I'm an emotional person, and I hope I handle it in an adult manner," he said.
Tonjah Andrews, a real estate broker from Cheyenne who was hired to represent the men, said she would not disclose their names. She said the men flew in from Vietnam after learning about the auction from online news stories.
She would not comment on what the men plan to do with the town.
Sammons bought a house in Windsor, Colorado, to be closer to his son and plans on writing a book about his 32 years in Buford.
He said he'll miss his one-man town, but one thing he won't miss is the billboard with his face on it that has become a familiar sight to drivers in Interstate 80. Buford is about halfway between Laramie and Cheyenne and is the second oldest town in the state.
"I can always rent one somewhere if I need to see my face," he said with a laugh.
America's 'smallest town' Buford sold for $900,000
Billed as the smallest town in America, Buford, Wyoming, was sold at auction Thursday for $900,000 to an anonymous Vietnamese national.
Buford once had 2,000 inhabitants, but then the railroad dropped it as a stopping point, and locals gradually moved out Photo: AP
Twenty-five bidders signed up for the auction, held online and on-site, of the town with its three-bedroom house, school, gas station and several other buildings.
Buford's last inhabitant and the owner of the buildings, Don Sammons, 61, told AFP the package went to a Vietnamese man from Ho Chi Minh City.
"He actually flew here from Vietnam. He was on-site," said Mr Sammons.
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 there in person.
"I'm happy and I'm sad all at once," said Sammons. "But I'm more happy than sad because this is all I wanted."
"I can continue and start the next chapter of my life," he said, adding that he planned to go someplace with sandy beaches and "maybe a palm tree" for a week or two before writing a book about his life in Buford.
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."
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 Buford Trading Post, as the outpost is called, benefits from regular traffic along the I-80 interstate, with Wyoming's state capital Cheyenne just 30 miles to the east, and San Francisco 1,150 miles to the west.
"I'm happy and I'm sad all at once," said Sammons. "But I'm more happy than sad because this is all I wanted."
"I can continue and start the next chapter of my life," he said, adding that he planned to go someplace with sandy beaches and "maybe a palm tree" for a week or two before writing a book about his life in Buford.
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."
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 Buford Trading Post, as the outpost is called, benefits from regular traffic along the I-80 interstate, with Wyoming's state capital Cheyenne just 30 miles to the east, and San Francisco 1,150 miles to the west.
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