A tiny town in Wyoming, advertising itself as the smallest in the US, has been sold by its only inhabitant in worldwide internet auction.
Buford was purchased by an anonymous Vietnamese buyer after 11 minutes of frenzied bidding.
The sale of the south eastern Wyoming town, which comes with a convenience store, gas station and a three-bedroom home, attracted online viewers and on-site bidders from 46 countries.
The new owner flew to Wyoming for the auction, according to Williams & Williams, the auction house handling the sale.
"Owning a piece of property in the US has been my dream," the Vietnamese businessman said in a statement.
The 10-plus acres of land also includes a mobile phone tower and a car park that a lorry company uses to switch trailers at night.
I'm happy and I'm sad all at once.
Sole Buford resident Don Sammons
Don Sammons, currently the town's only resident, moved with his wife from Los Angeles to the Buford area in 1980.
In 1992, six years after his wife died, Mr Sammons purchased the town.
The 61-year-old decided to auction off the Western hamlet to move to Colorado to be near his adult son.
"I'm happy and I'm sad all at once," Mr Sammons said.
"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 added that he planned to go somewhere with sandy beaches and "maybe a palm tree" for a week or two before writing a book about his life in Buford.
William & Williams executive Amy Bates said the firm had never seen the level of interest that accompanied the Buford auction.
"It's the Wild West in the US. It's owning your town and getting away from it all," she said.
The former railroad stop once was home to about 2,000 people but they started to move away after the train service ended.
