Smallest towns in America. Small towns can sometimes generate big news. The L.A. Times recently won a Pulitzer Prize for the story it broke about the grossly overpaid city employees of Bell, Calif.. Bell is a giant metropolis compared to this list of America’s smallest burgs, some just a resident or two away from becoming ghost towns.

Monowi, Neb.
Books outnumber residents in Monowi by a ratio of 5,000 to 1. Nebraska’s smallest town was featured on a famous morning news show in 2005.
Lost Springs, Wyo.
Talk about a boom town: Check out this Wyoming hamlet. Somehow, the population mushroomed in just 10 years, quadrupling its 2000 census figures.
Hillsview, S.D.
With a population density of 4.7 per square mile, Hillsview has a lot of breathing room and has never known a traffic jam. Founded in 1887, it lies within a stone’s throw of a neighboring state
Tortilla Flat, Ariz.
Located near this famous range of mountains, the smallest official community in Arizona attracted people looking for a precious mineral. It’s on an old Indian trail which shares its name with the Lone Ranger’s sidekick.
Freeport, Kan.
The smallest incorporated town in the U.S. with its own bank, this Kansas burg has one other thriving business. Its lone church, on a well-known listing of historic places, attracts 60 people every Sunday, dwarfing the local populace.
Tenney, Minn.
On the shores of what was once an ice-age lake, this Minnesota hamlet has one viable business that collects the region’s primary local crops
Weeki Wachee, Fla.
Located next to the deepest naturally-formed spring in America, this Florida town features a tourist attraction complete with more of these mythical sea creatures than residents.
Beaconsfield, Iowa
Named after a distinguished English lord, this petite Iowa farm village boasts a high-flying former resident whose made quite a name for herself
Bonanza, Colo.
Now considered a ghost town, this Colorado hamlet once harbored a healthy trade in a certain mineral found in the nearby mountains.
Mound, La.
Part of a parish named for an American president, this tiny Louisiana town once made its living from a plant dear to the Confederate States