美国特价开拍一人小镇

The sole resident of one Wyoming town has called himself its owner, and mayor, for years. But now, for a relative bargain, you could take that title away from him. Don Sammons, the sole resident of the town of Buford, Wyoming, is putting his property, and hence entire town, up for auction at the starting price of $100,000, the Wyoming Times reports (h/t The Atlantic). The deal includes a U.S. zip code, a historic school building, a three-bedroom home and the town's only source of revenue, a gas station and convenience store called the Buford Trading Post.

比福德位于怀俄明州东南部山区，小镇可以看到壮美的落基山脉风光，但冬季寒风凛冽。它是怀俄明州历史第二悠久的小镇，1866年建成，主要用途是保护在附近修建铁路的工人。镇上最多时有2000名居民，大部分是修建铁路的外国劳工。为此，镇上1880年建起邮局。后来，小镇以美国南北战争中北方军陆军将领约翰·比福德的名字正式命名。萨蒙斯现年61岁，是如今镇上唯一居民，也是镇长。他原本与妻子住在洛杉矶，1980年买下比福德并在此定居，享受慢节奏生活。萨蒙斯夫妇初到这里时，镇上有7名居民，负责看护经过附近的一条铁路。上世纪90年代中期，这7个人陆续搬离小镇。

Sammons purchased the town in 1992 with his wife and son, but after his wife passed away several years ago and his son moved out, he says it's about time to move away from what some say is among the smallest towns in the country. It may come as no surprise that one of the smallest towns in America is located in Wyoming — the state has the lowest population in the nation with an estimated 509,293 people, according to TIME.

萨蒙斯1992年买下包括加油站和便利店的“比福德商栈”，经营至去年年底。店里货品齐全，报纸杂志、饮料、服装等生活日用品应有尽有。16年前，萨蒙斯的妻子去世；4年前，他的儿子也搬到了科罗拉多州。儿子的离开让比福德成为有独立邮政编码（82052）的美国最小镇。正是由于小镇的特殊，美国媒体纷纷对它采访报道，世界各地的人还给萨蒙斯寄信或发电子邮件。

In fact, Buford is a real bargain compared to many other towns that have recently gone up for sale. Even a medieval town in France, home now to "thieves, drunks and squatters" as well as some crumbling buildings, according to nearby residents, was put up for sale last month for the asking price of $436,370 — more than four times that of Buford's starting price.

萨蒙斯说，虽然镇上只有他自己，但他并不感到孤独。不过，他打算退休后迁居他处，因此计划下月拍卖小镇。出售的包括约4.05万平方米土地、比福德商栈、邮局和无线信号塔、一桩建于1905年的校舍、一座小木屋、一个车库和萨蒙斯自己居住的三居室房屋。感兴趣的人可以登录auctionnetwork.com查询。