Buford, Wyoming

Buford is an unincorporated ghost town in Albany County, Wyoming, United States of America. Its last resident, who had been the lone resident for nearly two decades, left in 2012.[1] It is located between Laramie and Cheyenne on Interstate 80.

Buford
Unincorporated community
Town sign for Buford as of April 2020
Buford
Location within the state of Wyoming
Buford
Buford (the United States)
Buford
Buford (North America)
Coordinates: 41°07′25″N 105°18′09″W
CountryUnited States
StateWyoming
CountyAlbany
Founded1866
Population
 (2019)[1]
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
82052
GNIS feature ID1586078

Location

Buford is located in the Laramie Mountains, between the towns of Laramie and Cheyenne. The town is along the eastern approach to Sherman Hill Summit, the highest point along all of the transcontinental Interstate 80, Lincoln Highway and the Overland Route.[2] Buford is also an access to reach the Ames Monument, which marks the highest point along the original routing of the First Transcontinental Railroad.[3]

History

The original town was founded in 1866.[4] A Chicago Tribune article from 2012 stated that the locale began as a military outpost during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, but shrank when the fort moved to Laramie.[5] At its peak, the town boasted a population of 2,000.[4]

The Buford post office was established in August 1900, originally attributed as being in Laramie County but attributed to Albany County beginning in 1901. The post office suspended service on February 1, 1999, and the post office itself was discontinued on July 24, 2004, with mail service given to the post office at Cheyenne.[6] There was a school operating in Buford from 1905 to 1962.[7]

The railroad sold the Buford site to a private buyer in 1970.[7]

Don Sammons, with his wife and son, moved to Buford from California in 1980.[5][8] In 1992, he bought the parcel, of around 10 acres (4.0 ha), that comprises Buford, including the Buford Trading Post and its gas station.[5][9] At the time, there were 6 buildings, and 7 people working for the railroad, but the people moved away by the mid-1990s.[7] Sammons lived 200 yards (180 m) from the gas station, and converted the schoolhouse into an office and a 1895 store into a garage.[7] Sammons was the officer-in-charge of the post office beginning in 1993, and postmaster from April 1994 until the post office closed.[6] Around 1995, Sammons' wife died, and around 2008, his son moved away.[8] When Sammons decided to move to be closer to his adult son, he auctioned off the site in April 2012.[5][9]

Promotional sign related to the years 2011 to 2017. The sign still exists as of 2020.

The town was put up for auction on April 5, 2012, with the highest bid of $900,000 was made by two then-unidentified Vietnamese men.[9][10][11] Later, it was revealed that one of them was Phạm Đình Nguyên.[12] The new owners sold "PhinDeli" brand coffee, imported from Vietnam, in the convenience store.[13] In 2013, the new Vietnamese owner, re-branded the site as "PhinDeli Town Buford".[14][15] Nguyen never lived in the town and only visited it occasionally. Sammons managed the store for months and then Albany County native Jason Hirsh took over management while his son and nephew maintained the property and lived on site. In September 2017, Hirsh resigned and the store was boarded up.[1]

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See also

References
  1. Roddam, Rick (September 4, 2018). "Wyoming's Smallest Town Has Been Completely Abandoned". 101.9 KING FM. Cheyenne, Wyoming. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  2. Michael E. Grass (June 20, 2013). "Lincoln at the Lincoln Highway's Highest Point". Michael E. Grass. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  3. "Ames Monument Historic Site". Wyoming State Parks. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. Rosenfeld, Everett (July 20, 2011). "Meet the Only Resident of America's Smallest Town". Time. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  5. Zuckerman, Laura (April 5, 2012). "UPDATE 1-Wyoming town - population 1 - sells for $900,000 to Vietnamese buyer". Chicago Tribune. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  6. "Postmaster Finder". about.usps.com. United States Postal Service. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  7. "Population 1: The shopkeeper who lives in a one-man town (and there are no women or children either)". DailyMail.com. March 16, 2011. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. Chodak, Adam (January 2011). 9 News. Denver: KUSA. Missing or empty |title= (help) Archived as "Buford, Wyoming on 9 News". BufordTradingPost.com. August Moon Publishing. January 26, 2011. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  9. Vecsey, Laura. "America's tiniest town commands a big price". Zillow. Archived from the original on 2012-04-10. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  10. Spellman, Jim (April 5, 2012). "Vietnamese businessmen scoop up smallest U.S. town for $900,000". CNN. Retrieved 2012-04-06.
  11. Doanh gia Việt Nam qua Mỹ mua trọn thị trấn giá $900,000 Archived 2012-04-09 at the Wayback Machine(in Vietnamese)
  12. (in Vietnamese) Lộ danh tánh người Việt mua thị trấn Mỹ $900,000 Archived 2012-04-11 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Buford, Wyoming getting a new name - KGWN –Cheyenne, WY– Scottsbluff,…". archive.is. 2013-09-03. Archived from the original on 2013-09-03. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  14. Chilton, James (September 4, 2013). "PhinDeli Town Buford: Open for business". Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  15. Strochlic, Nina (2013-10-17). "America's Tiniest Town Is Sold And Renamed PhinDeli Town Buford, Wyoming". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
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