Monowi Nebraska
25/07/23 07:05 Filed in: Family
| My mother and grandparents (Mom's parents) came to Oregon from northeast Nebraska in the mid-1930s. My great-grandparents (Grandma Vada's parents) had homesteaded in Monowi, NE in the late 1890s and built a home on land just outside Monowi. In those days, Monowi had over 100 people there, now it just has one. I have pictures of the population sign stating 6 that was taken in the 1990s when Mom and Gram visited the area. Here is the current story about Monowi and why it is unique. We have met Elsie Eiler and a current picture of the Tavern follows. |
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| Monowi, Nebraska, population one, might be the strangest little town this side of the Mississippi. Elsie Eiler, the town’s only resident since the passing of her late husband, Rudy, is the librarian, mayor, treasurer, clerk, and of course, the sole bartender. This is the only incorporated town in the U.S. that only has one resident and the town’s infrastructure reflects this. There are only two public buildings in Monowi — the Monowi Tavern, owned and operated by Elsie herself, and Rudy’s Library, a personal collection of 5,000 books and magazines. You can still check them out on the honor system. When you drive into Monowi there isn’t a post office, school, or police station. Even stop signs seem pretty pointless in a town with only one local. The only movement is the wind blowing through the prairie grasses and Elsie manning her station in the Monowi Tavern’s kitchen or bar. Monowi wasn’t always so desolate though. In fact, it was once a bustling town on the Elkhorn Railroad in the 1930’s when 150 people called this pipsqueak city home. |
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