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For sale: one US town (price includes the only bar in a 10-mile radius)

Swett, in South Dakota, is also a popular destination for pheasant hunting – and could be yours for $400,000

Dina Rickman
Monday 30 June 2014 17:38 BST
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The town in South Dakota is available for just $400,000 (£234,538)
The town in South Dakota is available for just $400,000 (£234,538) (AP)

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Looking for a change of scene? An entire American town could be yours for just $400,000 (£234,538).

The price of Swett, in the midwest state of South Dakota, includes a bar, workshop, three trailers, a three-bedroom house and 6.16 acres of prairie real estate.

While a grand total of 40 people lived in Swett during the 1940s, the town currently has a population of two: owner Lance Benson and his wife. But that doesn’t mean things are quiet. The Swett Tavern - the only bar in a 10-mile radius - has attracted its fair share of colourful characters over the years.

Punter Gerry Runnels joked to Rapid City Journal: "It’s pretty much where the highway ends and the Wild West begins.”

Gerry’s 27-year-old nephew Ray Runnells added that nowadays it’s the “kind of a place you can come in and have a meal with your family rather than defend your family”.

As well as drinking, Swett is also a popular destination for pheasant hunting. Benson says he will “hate to get rid of” the town but has put it up for sale to focus on his travelling concession business. However he added " if I don't sell it this first year, I would probably keep it” – which means if you’re planning to put in an offer, do it soon.

This is not the first time an entire US town has gone up for sale. In 2011 the town of Scenic, also in South Dakota, was bought by a Filipino church, Iglesia Ni Cristo, for $700,000.

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