--- description: A businessman in South Dakota has just put an entire town up for sale, and there's a bar included title: For $400,000 You Can Be Mayor and Bartender of Swett, South Dakota image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd7e95e18b6ba92/698699e213c79fb673192dd6/swett_north_dakota.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [States](/tag/states/) ## States Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # For $400,000 You Can Be a Town's Owner, and its Bartender by [Mirren Gidda](/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2014 1:54 PM CUT  A road marker highlights Swett, S.D.'s small borders on June 26, 2014. A road marker highlights Swett, S.D.'s small borders on June 26, 2014.Eric Ginnard—AP by [Mirren Gidda](/author/mirren-gidda/) ## Mirren Gidda Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 30, 2014 1:54 PM CUT Ever wished your local bar was a little less crowded? Well wish no more. For a mere $400,000 you can become the proud owner of a bar, and the one-man town it’s based in, the [Associated Press](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FODD%5FTOWN%5FFOR%5FSALE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined") reports. Lance Benson, a wealthy businessman, has put the town of Swett, S.D. up for sale. Benson bought the hamlet in 1998, lost it in a divorce and reclaimed it in 2012\. Now he’s looking for a buyer so he can spend more time on his business. The new owner of Swett will inherit a workshop, three trailers, Benson’s house, and, of course, the bar. Though the town is uninhabited, solitary drinkers need not make an offer. The Swett Tavern is the bar of choice for local cowboys and farmers within a 10-mile radius. Gerry Runnels, a patron of the bar commented: “This place is pretty much where the highway ends and the Wild West begins.” Benson put the town on the market last week, though a new proprietor is yet to be found. Its current owner isn’t too bothered though. Benson said if Swett doesn’t sell in a year, he’ll keep it. \[[_AP_](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FODD%5FTOWN%5FFOR%5FSALE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2940402/for-400000-you-can-be-a-towns-owner-and-its-bartender/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2940402/for-400000-you-can-be-a-towns-owner-and-its-bartender/"},"headline":"For $400,000 You Can Be a Town's Owner, and its Bartender","datePublished":"2014-06-30T13:54:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:11:14.819Z","description":"The entire town of Swett, South Dakota is up for sale, and there's a bar included","url":"https://time.com/2940402/for-400000-you-can-be-a-towns-owner-and-its-bartender/","keywords":["States","Newsfeed","south dakota"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd7e95e18b6ba92/698699e213c79fb673192dd6/swett_north_dakota.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mirren Gidda","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mirren-gidda/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbdd7e95e18b6ba92/698699e213c79fb673192dd6/swett_north_dakota.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A road marker highlights Swett, S.D.'s small borders on June 26, 2014.","caption":"A road marker highlights Swett, S.D.'s small borders on June 26, 2014.","creditText":"Eric Ginnard—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/states/","name":"States"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2940402/for-400000-you-can-be-a-towns-owner-and-its-bartender/","name":"For $400,000 You Can Be a Town's Owner, and its Bartender"}}]}] ```