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Denio, Oregon-Nevada, if it counts as a town. The next nearest town is McDermitt, Oregon-Nevada, which is about 95 miles away and pop. ~240. 99.8 miles to a town of any consequence--Winnemucca, Nevada (pop. 7,000). Winnemucca is about 75 miles from McDermitt which is also above the 50 miles threshold for that town.
Denio, Oregon-Nevada, if it counts as a town. The next nearest town is McDermitt, Oregon-Nevada, which is about 95 miles away and pop. ~240. 99.8 miles to a town of any consequence--Winnemucca, Nevada (pop. 7,000). Winnemucca is about 75 miles from McDermitt which is also above the 50 miles threshold for that town.
THIS is the area I've been talking about! That whole southeast corner of Oregon/Nevada. Denio is a town about like Frenchglen, OR is a town...a couple of houses and one building where you can get some food and gas, and that's about it.
Lakeview is a thriving metropolis compared to Frenchglen. Backdrifter, if you love the outdoors, you owe yourself a trip to Steens Mountain and the Frenchglen area. The Alvord Desert there has hot springs and is actually one of the space shuttle's emergency landing zones. Some folks go land sailing there. Great fishing, wild horses, interesting geology, and per this thread---few towns and lots of empty.
I think Denio may be as close as we're going to get...though technically there are actually two communities 2 miles apart (Denio and Denio junction). According to the article above, Denio has a bar, community center and a library, so it meets my definition of a town. Denio Junction (2 miles to the south) has gas, food and lodging.
I love that movie Population 436!!! BTW It's Rockwell Falls, ND. If you check out the license plates on the delivery truck, Tow Truck, and Police Cars.
Are we talking as the crow flies or road miles? There are some places in Kentucky that are no more than ten or twelve miles apart but take a good half day of intense driving around the mountains to get there.
I found 3 areas in PA that are more than 20 air miles from the limits of any Pennsylvania incorporated city, town, borough, or first class township. Two of these would be surely confounded by communities in WV and MD, and the third happened to be downtown Marienville, which is big enough to have a prison and hotel, but not to incorporate.
I just watched the movie Poplulation 436 last night. It's about an isolated Midwestern town called Rockwell Falls (presumably in Illinois, but they don't really say), whose population has stayed the same for over 100 years. A census taker comes to town and is warned by a local that he should immediately return to the last town, which is 50 miles back.
Even if we buy the premise that Rockwell Falls is located at the end of the ONLY road leading there, it's hard for me to believe that ANY town in Illinois could be the only populated place for 50 road miles. I live in northern Minnesota (which has some pretty remote areas) and I can't think of a town that is the ONLY thing for 50 miles. 30 maybe, but not 50.
That got me thinking...is there ANY town in the USA that is 50 or more miles by road, in any direction, from any other town? (This of course excludes Alaskan villages or island settlements, etc. that can only be flow or boated to.)
I Googled "most isolated town in america" but didn't really get the answer I was looking for. I also took a quick look at Google maps at some sparsely populated areas. Even Eureka, NV (located on the "loneliest road in America") is within 40 miles of places called Alpha (to the north on hwy 278) and Bull Fork (to the south on hwy 379). If Alpha and Bull Fork are actually "towns", I don't know...but somehow they earned a name and a dot on the map.
So, does such a place exist in the USA? Thanks for any help you can give to satisfy my geeky curiosity
I saw that movie. You might enjoy the book, "Miles From Nowhere" by Dayton Duncan. There are some places where people pack groceries in their cars, before they hit the road.
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