Whenever you think about the places with the smallest population in the world, probably some names come to your mind, like The Vatican, the smallest country in the world, or Tuvalu with its population of 10,640 inhabitants.
Well, they are pretty small indeed. These places are so small that you might even know everybody, or almost everybody, in the country. Can you imagine that? To know everybody in your country?
What if the only person living in a place were just you. And no, I’m not talking about an apocalyptic movie. It is true and it happens in Monowi, Nebraska a town with just one inhabitant. Wanna meet her? Follow me…
Monowi is a town located in Boyd County, Nebraska, USA. It is believed that its name comes from a Native American language that means “flower”.
The last census made in 2010, threw as a result that the town has a population of 1. That’s right, just one person is actually living in a whole town. And not only living there but also running the whole town.
Elsie Eiler is the sole resident of Monowi. This 84-years-old woman is the major of the town as well as the librarian and the bartender and any other job that needs to be filled in the town.
Her routine includes opening Monowi Tavern at 9 a.m. from Tuesday to Sunday. Mondays are off since she grants herself a rest day. There she offers beers, burgers, and hot dogs to tourists that come visit this one-person village.
Elsie Eiler is also a librarian from Monowi Library that held about 5,000 books that were once her late husband’s private collection.
How Did It Get To One Resident?
via Stuff
As you may imagine, it wasn’t always like this. In the 1930s Monowi was a town with moving activities and action. It used to have around 150 businesses from grocery stores to restaurants. It even had a prison.
What happened is that as farming conditions worsened, many jobs were lost and people started to migrate to bigger towns and main cities. Looking for better living conditions, the young flew away.
Those who stayed eventually died and after Eiler’s husband passed away in 2004, she was left all alone in this almost ghostly town.
However, Eiler has taken it very well. She often jokes that being the only resident is quite interesting. After all, she has no competition. “There’s no need for any elections because I’d be the only one to vote,” she told Reuters once.