With 8,000,000+ people living in New York City, it’s hard to imagine life with a smaller population. From our shoe box apartments to our cramped streets, we’ve grown pretty accustomed to small spaces and people being everywhere at all times. However, that’s a very different story from the one resident living in the smallest town in the U.S.: Hibberts Gore, Maine.
Technically, Hibberts Gore is actually a “gore” (shocker), which is defined as typically a small, triangular piece of unincorporated land. Hibberts Gore, the smallest town in the U.S., is a total of 0.7 miles. And according to town census data from 2020, Hibberts Gore is home to one singular resident. Her name is Karen Keller.
The Boston Globe had released an article on Karen Keller back in 2001 after the 2000 US Census declared her the sole resident of Hibberts Gore. However, following an interview in 2013 with Sunday Salon, Karen explained that the declaration made her feel vulnerable. “You’re isolated and you’re one female. It’s not cool. It’s not reassuring,” Karen told Sunday Salon.
Apparently, Karen had wrote to the US Census Bureau about the issue, requesting to be counted with the neighboring territory in Lincoln County. They replied as follows:
Because Hibberts Gore is a legally defined geographic entity, even though it has no governmental functions, the Census Bureau must recognize this existence as a political unit and does not have the authority to incorporate it into the neighboring towns for the purpose of data.
The Mirror suspects Karen still resides in Hibberts Gore. That would make it one of the only few remaining areas in the US that have a population of one person. The other town known for a population of one person has been Minowi, Nebraska that was last reported in 2019. However, as of 2021, the US Census Bureau reported a population of 0.
Though the smallest town in America isn’t necessarily the next destination to put on your bucket list, it is interesting to know that it’s just about a six hour drive from NYC, ~380 miles. And no, there is no public transportation to get you there.