One Person Wyoming Town Sells for $900,000 at Auction

Reuters reported that the tiny town garnered online viewers and bidders from 46 countries for the sale of 10-plus acres that include a convenience store, gas station and three-bedroom home located between Cheyenne and Laramie.

Auctions always bring a lot of attention, but even we were amazed at the amount of attention to Buford worldwide, Amy Bates, chief marketing officer for the auction house handling the sale, Williams & Williams, said before the sale.

The anonymous buyer flew from Vietnam to Wyoming for the purchase he called the American dream, according to a statement released by Williams & Williams.

For the last 20 years, Buford has been owned by its only resident, Don Sammons. Sammons moved to Buford with his wife in 1980 to get away from the busy city life of Los Angeles and bought the town in 1992, six years after his wife died.

His decision to sell the town was to allow himself to move to Colorado to be near his adult son.

My family is gone. Our purpose for moving here has kind of been completed, and now I want to find out what other adventures I have in store, Sammons, 61, told Reuters.

Buford sprung up in the 1860s as a military outpost during construction of the transcontinental railroad. The population dwindled when the fort moved to Laramie and the county seat to Cheyenne.

Gary Crawford, who lives about 4.5 miles northeast of the town, told The Associated Press the trading post is important to the surrounding residents.

At different times, this has been a community gathering place where you caught up with your neighbors and shoot the breeze, learn what's going on, who is around, he explained. 

He looks forward to meeting the new owner saying, I think we may have very nice, new neighbors.