Nov 04, 2018 15:00:00

A movie that follows the life of a woman who pays her own taxes in a village with only one population is now available

The village of Monowi in Nebraska, USA, is known as a 'village with a population of only one person.' The BBC has released a video showing how the only villager in the village, who no longer lives there, lives his or her life.

The tiny town with a population of one - BBC Reel
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p05wgs0g/the-tiny-town-with-a-population-of-one

Monowi Village was established in 1902 when the railway was laid. It flourished with a population of 150 people in the 1930s, but after that depopulation progressed, and by 2000 the population was only two people.

As of 2018, Monowi village has a population of just one person. Only three houses remain, two of which are, of course, vacant.

'Everyone has either died or moved away,' says Elsie Eiler, Monowi's only resident.

Eiler moved to Monowi when he was a child, where his parents were farmers.

Eiler has been living in Monowi village for over 80 years.

Eiler got married and continued to live in Monowi as a couple, but her husband Rudy passed away in 2004 and she has remained the only resident of Monowi ever since.

Eiler has a son and a daughter, both of whom left the village as soon as they graduated from school and are now living in different places.

Eiler says people often ask her if her children are worried about her. 'Yes, they are worried about me, but they respect my desire to continue living here,' she says.

In 1971, the Eilers bought the site of a defunct general store and a closed post office and opened a bar called Monowi Tavern.

Eiler is the only resident of Monowi village and the mayor of Monowi village. Eiler gave herself a liquor license and has been running the bar since her husband passed away. She also pays the village tax properly and pays it herself.

Eiler opens his shop at 9 a.m. He thought he wouldn't have any customers because he was in a village where no one else lives, but he says that office workers and long-distance truck drivers who pass by in their cars stop by.

Some people even make the effort to come just to meet Eiler, who continues to live alone in the village and run the bar.

A notebook in the corner of the store is filled with visitors' signatures.

'I think everybody needs this store, including me,' Eiler said in an interview.

Eiler, who will be 84 years old in 2018, looks out over the deserted village of Monowi, which has no other residents.

The movie ended with Eiler's comment, 'I live in this Monowi village and I am very happy.'