MONOWI, Neb.—At 91 years old, Elsie Eiler understands, perhaps better than anyone, how one person can keep a town alive.
Welcome to Monowi, Nebraska, where Eiler is the mayor, town clerk, librarian, and bartender for the only incorporated town in the United States with just one resident—herself.
Her dark blue t-shirt says it all: “Monowi? Yes, because Elsie says so.”
Eiler is the heart and soul of the town, and it has been that way for 21 years.
Her husband passed away in 2004 and in the years that followed, Eiler became something of an international celebrity, taking pride in her independence and working hard to keep her one-person town going….