Don Sammons, longtime inhabitant of Buford, Wyoming recently sold his home at auction, which consequentially was the entirety of the small town. Buford, Wyoming—population one— sold for $900,000 to a Vietnamese buyer who wished to name anonymous after the Internet auction received worldwide attention.
Internet bidders from over 70 various countries sought to bid on the southeastern Wyoming town, which includes a modular home, gas station, and convenience store.
“Auctions always bring a lot of attention, but even we were amazed at the amount of attention to Buford worldwide,” said Amy Bates, chief marketing officer for Williams & Williams, who organized the auction and handled the sale. “It’s the Wild West in the U.S. It’s owning your town and getting away from it all.”
The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, flew in from Vietnam for a piece of “the American Dream” according to auction house Williams & Williams. In a statement released by the buyer he said, “Owning a piece of property in the United States has been my dream.”
On the Buford Trading Post website, Don Sammons explains that he moved to Buford from California in 1980 with his wife. Now that his wife has died and his son has grown up and moved away, Sammons is ready to retire from his position as Buford Mayor, and full-time convenience store clerk.
Buford is Wyoming’s second-oldest town and was a booming railroad city that hosted the likes of Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Butch Cassidy. However, with the decline of the railroad, nearly all of Buford’s residents moved, leaving Don Sammons the sole inhabitant.
The purchase made on the April 5 will include five buildings, a United States Post Office box, a leased Union Wireless cellular tower, 10 acres of uninhabited land, and an expansive parking lot. The auction house Williams & Williams boasted that approximately 1,000 potential customers drive through the small town during peak summer months.