The Smallest Town in America

UPDATE (9/23/10): I WAS WRONG!

Hidden among the cornfields along highway 55 in northwestern Minnesota on some of the flattest land you'll ever see is a little town called Tenney.  Having recently discovered that America's smallest town was only three hours away, my curiosity finally got the best of me.  So I rose early on Saturday morning and made the three-hour drive in 2 hours and 57 minutes, took some pictures, and then made it back in time for lunch.

The town did not match the pleasant picture that I had created in my mind.  It consists of a large grain elevator next to the highway and a few dilapidated old buildings along with a few run down houses and trailers.  There is one dirt road that runs through the town like a horseshoe.  You can walk a circle around the town in about 10 minutes.  There is nothing pretty about it.  Everything appears desolate.  But having seen it now, I like it even more and I can't wait to go back when I can spend some more time there.  Perhaps the townspeople would be kind enough to invite me out for the next town festival?

Speaking of the townspeople, I did not spot a single soul in the town (real or imagined).  Not one person peeking out their window at me or walking out to get a newspaper.  Not even a dog barking.  Nothing.  I began to wonder if there was really anyone living in this town that suddenly seemed like something out of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  The only sound in the air was the wind whipping through the barren trees and an occasional car passing on highway 55.  I wanted to knock on a door but feared that I would only be met by the ghost of a 19th century lumberjack and his quilt-making wife. 

Nevertheless, I am now more fascinated than ever by this town and its six residents.  I want to know their stories.  I want to know if they are happy in their little town without a single satellite dish, or if they feel trapped in Tenney like a woman stuck in a dead marriage.  Perhaps they have discovered a kind of joy in simplicity that we city folk can never know.  Or perhaps they long to escape to civilization and curse the day that they were born in this desolate corner of the universe.  I want to know.

Comments

[Jay Jorgenson]

Well that town sucks....at least the church looks good, or it will when they finish renovating it. What a bummer.

[Micah L.]

Bummer? Are you kidding me? I love it and I can't wait to go back.

[sarah]

I lived in a blink-and-you-miss for most of my teen years and there were never so many interesting people and stories! It was in Mallet Creek Ohio. I'm a writer and I've just finished witha rough draft of a story in a twon just like it. With only 6 residents! I like that you posted the info. I looking for these little places so i can do some research on them. It is a shame that there is no one to talk to about it. If you do find any one there, be careful, sometimes they don't like people coming in. You might actaully get a response like "I don't get what all the fuss is about." They are sometimes very isolated in thier thoughts. (Trying get my dad's family to do family oriented stuff is worse then pulling teeth! They just don't get it sometimes.) Good luck.

[Lisa Ann]

I think it is great there is a tiny town out there that time has not touched. I would love to learn more of the town and the people. Please keep me informed.

[Lucas]

Hi , amazing stuff here man.
My name is Lucas i am from Argentina, and from movies i always had a wild interest for the small town USA. So i search the Google map or just a Google search for small town once in a while to see what comes out.
This time was because i was watching again the (good) movie Breakdown,with Kurt Russell.
At one point the kidnappers take him to what looks like an amazing super small town in the middle of nowhere... to extract money from the bank... amazing place, fascinating... maybe they made that one up for the movie.., it looks like a small town really a in the middle of the desert.

So i Google to see what happened "smallest town USA" think something like a population of 2000 or so would be the minimum , and your nice site comes out with this amazing report on Tenney!
POP 6!! Wonderful truly... really interesting, the mood in the picks is beautiful.

Thanks for posting them.

[Hunter B]

Baker, missouri has a population of 5.

[Heather]

as a child i vividly remember visiting a town in Nevada called Nichodemus, population 3. There was just a trailer and a cafe for passersby.

cool photos anyway, very The Road.

[Godsonsosa]

Are you kiing me?if i lived here it wouldnt be for long i would have put a bullet in my head a long time ago. I know everyone there must be having sex with pets and other animals they find in the streets...

[Alaska Drug and Alcohol Rehab]

Wow that's like in the middle of nowhere

[Garrett]

Baker, MO is a vilage not a town/city. i also Read that the people that live in Tenney are trying to get more people to move in.

[Buck]

Is there an official mayor?

If so, could you email their address to me.

I teach at a elementary school and the students have lots of questions they would like to ask the mayor.

Thankyou,
Buck

[MIke G]

The good news is they just got 13.4 million in stimulus money to build a parking lot!

I saw a town with 10 in Wyoming recently. I suspect that below 10, the state won't issue you a sign.

[CD]

Hoover South Dakota is Smaller and so is Reva South Dakota so bad research not the smallest town

[william easton]

You're going to get a lot of questions since "Town" differs among the several states. For example, the "smallest town" listed for NY is Sherrill, pop. 3147.
In Michigan, where I live a "Town" is a geographical entity, with each county having so many towns.
Smaller areas may be villages, incorporated or unincorporated, or "hamlets.
Of course from Wis. you could have driven to Angle Inlet, Mn. the northernmost community of lower 48.
Your brief visit is like mine to Idaho, to complete my touching all states.

[m]

Actually ther was a tie in the mayors race in Tenney, each candidate got 1 vote.

[DET]

Greenhorn, Oregon, is an incorporated city with an estimated population of 2 in 2006. This is an increase over its official 2000 U.S. Census population of 0 (zero). Part-time residents are eligible to hold elective office.

As small as Greenhorn is, they still couldn't get it into one county. It's partly in Baker County and partly in Grant County.

[DK Wight]

Two Dot, Montana is my vote for small town America's poster child. Dont get me wrong It's not a bad spot at all if you like mule deer, antelope and the odd coyote. Dont blink, it's all in one building, the last time I blew through. Not even a reduce speed sign clutters the view of the shortgrass plains. Ah, Montana land of big trout and bigger skies.

[City Slicker]

I sure feel sorry for the "Six" residents of that town, for they have nothing in that town, and then the poor people have to watch the "Viqueens" try to play football on Sundays if they are lucky enough to have a satelite dish. What makes people want to live like that anyway??

[KelvinB]

There are many small towns in rural Ohio. Most are in the Northwest, East and Southeast parts of the state. However, you will find them scattered throuhout the Buckeye state. These are towns that time forgot. Many with deep histories going back before there was a state. You can visit grave yards with stones dating back to the Revolutionary War and before. Rachel Grant, the grandmother of President U.S. Grant is burried in one such town, not much around it but farms, weeds, and a few houses.

[velvet]

Lost Springs, Wyoming population 1 but it has does bounce around between 1 and 4 depending on family moving in and out. seriously. i have lived in wyoming my whole life drivin by many times. there is actually alot of towns like that. as long as it has a post office its a town.

[Wilm]

There's a list of the 50 smallest town in the United States at http://www.top50states.com/population-by-state.html
As of the 2000 census, two towns are tied for smallest town: Monowi, Nebraska, zip code 68746, and Lost Springs, Wyoming, zip code 82224, both with a population of 1.

[Josh]

Acually... Decker wyoming has a population of 2.... sooooooo its not acually the smallest...

[Josh]

Also Lost Springs,WY has a population of 1, its zipcode is 82224.

[Helen]

I would like to hear more about this smallest town. It is interesting. How far back does their town history go? Please keep me posted.

Best Regards ~ Helen

[Jack]

The reason Tenney, MN is so amazing is not because of its population, but because of the amount of area it occupies. Its total size is only 0.020136 sq mi. Think about that. Tenney is the smallest town in the USA by square milage, not by the number of people living in it. There are only three inhabited homes, but two families. It is a poor community (as of 2000), but I have heard that more people are actually moving IN. It is becoming somewhat of a tourist attraction and a diner is being opened. And, Tenney is technically a CITY. It has also become famous as the smallest statutory city in the United States, but because of size, people just use the umbrella term "town".

[Jack]

Oh yeah, and within its miniscule borders, Tenney also has a property listed on the national register of historic places, the Tenney fire hall. So, it may be small, but the residents of this town, from what I hear, also have a lot of local pride, oddly enough.

[Andrew]

Tenney is one of those places that just exist on the edge of everything. Lots in were selling for $300 a few years ago. I know because #2 son purchased several. We're considering erecting a wind turbine to generate power for the grid. Tenney will never be a "city" but it has a purpose for some who enjoy quiet and wide vistas of land. The old Post office/General store was/is being renovated and with taxes at $25 per year, property is actually a bargin.

[Greg Laswell]

This is great. Thanks for sharing.

[Nate]

My friend and I are planning to start a Tenney Fan Club. Buttons and all. Does anyone know if the Diner is open yet?

[Jillian]

whoa oh my lordy
that is an amazing town
i really would like to know the whole story behind it and how it got to be 6 people
that is truely amazing
my daughter was looking up the smallest town in amarica because she said she wanted to go there, shes only 7, and when she found this blog she started runing all over the house saying how she could open her own barbie bread store down there and everyone would come back and it would turn into the next big new york
that is some amazing town

[amida larry]

what is the zipcode of tenney .I would like to pay a visit there

[Blah Blank]

Lost Spring WY has a post office? A town with one person and it needs a post office haha thats good

[Blah Blank]

the church is or will be the city hall.

[The Wanderer]

What a nice little retirement community! A place where one could go and enjoy the rest of your life in absolute peace and quiet. I wonder what business once occupied that dilapidated building at one time? I am suprised that the state issued a sign with such a miniscule population number. In Wisconsin, where there are lots of towns like this one, it would just say "Unincorporated". This is truly a future ghost town.

[Palmer Lake Guy]

Very cool photos and story. LOVE small and/or abandoned towns -fascinating! Thanks for posting.

[Larry Tenney]

Thanks for the extra effort behind this story. I've recently started sharing "Tenney" factoids and trivia with my Tenney cousins on facebook via the Tenney Family Association page http://facebook.com/TenneyFamily. Your post is a great find and certain to be provacative. You can check in there to see what people have to say! THANKS!

[Ginger Owen]

Where is Decker, Wyoming? I had a friend who's relatives were from Decker and also a photo in one of the books I have about wolves annihilated in Decker, Wyoming at the turn of the century. My husband is traveling to Wyoming this July and wants to go there.

[Billy bob]

Hey! I am from Tenny. My mom and I love our son, my dad and I still take trips hunting for sheep and Gpa still gives me a rectal exam for Christmas every year

[desertpro]

Nice page but the title is incorrect Buford Wyoming is the smalest town in the USA with a population of one.

[Micah L.]

Desertpro:

http://micah.typepad.com/dogears_wrinkles/2010/09/the-smallest-town-in-america.html

[leisa]

well, i come from a small town with a population of 800. and its only 1.4 sqare miles in texas clled big sand...but jeeze i guess wer'e alot bigger than i thought! im happ we aint the smallest!!! i am so excited! :)

[Jacob]

Did you ever go back here and try to talk to anyone. Would be very interesting!

[Craig B]

OK, so this is an old post. But man its interesting. Like the author, I would like to visit and explore this little burg of yesterdays bad drams. I have an upcoming creative writing class I'm going to be leading and I think I will use these pictures (If its alright with the author) as a center piece for the course. I'm in Oregon so getting out there to see this place isn't likely. I wonder, is it still there?

[Micah L.]

Feel free to use the photos, Craig. Last time I checked it's still there, and still has six people.

[Bruce A Ogden]

Monowi, Nebraska has population of 1

[David]

Monowi, Nebraska Population 1

[alicefray]

i am one of those six ppl!!!! :)

[Lily]

Yes, well. I'm pretty sure that with 0 sq. miles and a populations of 0; Doesntexist, WI is the smallest town in America. Not to mention the world. :)

[Caitlin]

Pop. 6? I guess we know where the saying "everybody knows your name" came from.

[Ben]

I don't think Alice is one of those people

There was just an article about how the now 3 people of Tenney have decided to dissolve the town into nearby Campbell Township. They have been declining in population for a while and couldn't keep up the buildings and no one wanted to move there.

Unfortunately this tiny little town is no more.

[Laura]

The town has been dissolved now: http://www.startribune.com/local/124328119.html

[Dharma Raj Koirala]

Respected dear chief
Mad Sanity Town,
Namaste(hello) in Nepali word
I am an associate professor of political science In Tribhuvan University Nepal.I am on the way of Phd. my topic is "Decentralization an its empact in social mobility". I have heard about this towen the smallest one of your country. I want to see one or two administrative unit of the town. If you response me Iwill be very happy. It would be helpfull for my degree.Iam looking forward to seeing your reply soon . Thanks
Dharmaraj koirala

[Imbri]

There's a tiny town in Arkansas, hidden in the Ozarks, called Odessa. Only 5 people live there, and I think 3 or 4 of them are related. I couldn't find it again if I tried probably, completely forgot how I ended up there. All it has are 3 houses, a tiny post office, and a convenient store.

[Stephen]

Let me add, that California does boast a community in the redwoods called Holy City. It is situated in the mountains upon a defunct old road that links Los Gatos and Santa Cruz-- and has by last count a population of ONE.

In the middle of the last century it was hailed as the future center of the world, founded by a white supremist who was known as "The Comforter." Holy City was once a tourist attraction of great repute, populated by hundreds, and a refuge for many from a world of despair. It was founded during the GREAT Depression.

[alex]

this town is TINYYYYYYY!!!!!

[Diz Pareunia]

Last time I was there, Gibsonville, Sierra County, California, had a population of two; a miner and his young son. I'm confident that if you poked around a bit in the old Gold Rush country you could find plenty of defunct "towns" with only ONE resident.
He will not be happy to see you.