History In 1932 a post office was started in the local grocery store, which was owned by a farmer named Swett. In the 1940s there were 40 residents. At the time the community included a post office, a grocery store, and several houses. The post office was closed in 1945 leaving the community to be known for the saloon. Later the saloon was converted into a home after the building of the current Swett Tavern. As time passed, the number of people owning property decreased. Eventually one person owned all of the properties and land in the community. The property was passed from person to person. In 1998 Lance Benson acquired the town. Benson divorced a previous wife, and she received the town after he signed away the property. In 2012 Benson re-acquired the town. In 2014 Benson offered to sell the town for $399,000. The hamlet's sale became international news. In October 2015, the bank located in Gordon, Nebraska holding the mortgage foreclosed on the hamlet property. The selling price was reduced to $250,000 in 2015. The three mobile homes were removed in a general clean up of the property.
Price includes a home, tavern, 6 acres -- and possibly some ghosts.
While the tavern is closed now, it's still there and was renovated prior to shutting down -- and once had something of a tough reputation. Gerry Runnels, who was a regular at the Swett Tavern when it was open, told the Rapid City Journal in 2014 about an Oklahoman who came to visit. "He said you need a Bowie knife to get in this place and a chainsaw to get out," Runnels told the newspaper. Even the road signs bore the scars of conflict. They had to be replaced recently because "the old ones had bullet holes in them," Montgomery told the Journal.
Buy Your Own Ghost Town: Swett, South Dakota, On Sale For $250,000
Price includes a home, tavern, 6 acres -- and possibly some ghosts.
While the tavern is closed now, it's still there and was renovated prior to shutting down -- and once had something of a tough reputation. Gerry Runnels, who was a regular at the Swett Tavern when it was open, told the Rapid City Journal in 2014 about an Oklahoman who came to visit. "He said you need a Bowie knife to get in this place and a chainsaw to get out," Runnels told the newspaper. Even the road signs bore the scars of conflict. They had to be replaced recently because "the old ones had bullet holes in them," Montgomery told the Journal.
Buy Your Own Ghost Town: Swett, South Dakota, On Sale For $250,000
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