Buy a rough and rumble cowboy town on the edge of the wilderness

Posted by
Scenic, SD by Jan DirkventWout. Courtesy Google Maps.

We’ve had our eye on offbeat real estate porn for a couple months now, but this is the first instance I’ve seen of an entire town getting a listing.

Scenic, South Dakota is on the map west of the Badlands and in a very isolated part of the US. It’s hot in the summers there, cold in the winters, and you’re a long way from anything.

According to Neatorama, nine people currently live in Scenic, but one family owns the entire 12 acres it sits on. Included with your $799,000 purchase will be a post office, a saloon, and two stores.

Longhorn Saloon, by pmatula. Photo courtesy Google Maps.

It may be the buttcrack of nowhere, but the Badlands are one of my favorite places on earth. It would be hard not to like something about living on the edge of this wild, otherworldly landscape.

Photo by Jan DirkventWout. Courtesy Google Maps.

So, who’s buying this and turning it into the Offbeat equivalent of Marfa, TX?

Comments on Buy a rough and rumble cowboy town on the edge of the wilderness

  1. The Badlands are incredible & have a special place in my heart <3 I heard about Scenic being "On the market" a month ago & immediately began my quest to raise the cash to purchase. Unfortunately, I have only raised $10. Such a great place to visit & soak up some spectacular views & amazing history!

  2. Wow, that IS in the middle of nowhere… I wonder what it is like to live there… And I now begin to feel for all of you who commented on Ariel’s post on growing up in the woods.. :S

  3. I would just like to note that there are many single family homes that sell for that amount here in Fairfax Co, VA. That price tag doesn’t seem so bad to me.

  4. The Badlands are my favorite national park! I think I may actually have driven through Scenic once, but I blinked and missed it. I wonder how the residents feel about the folks who own the whole parcel selling it from under them? I wonder, why not divide the parcel so people who want to can keep their homes?

    • I would imagine the residents are probably renting from the current owner, and will continue to rent from the next owner. same with the operators of the businesses.

  5. Oh, and a word of warning: If you’re like me and immediately Google “Scenic SD” DON’T click on the first link that comes up, buyscenicsd.com, as it appears to be a hacker site. Oops. Sorry, work computer….

  6. There are a couple ghost towns in Northern British Columbia that you can purchase. I think they are around a million dollars.
    Like another commenter pointed out 799 doesn’t seem that bad when homes here in Vancouver are that price.

Join the Conversation