One Man, One Ghost Town, One Google Doc -- And a Dream

It all started with a tweet.

“Hey all, let’s buy a town,” Dan Sinker tweeted at 10:37 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29. “We need 800 people to pledge $1k each.”

Sinker, a Chicago-based editor and author (among other roles), is referring to Johnsonville, an abandoned village located in East Haddam, Conn.

The ghost town hasn’t had occupants for more than 15 years since its former owner, Raymond Schmitt, died — along with Schmitt’s dream of a Victorian tourist attraction.

But Johnsonville may see life again — the entire village is on the auction block via Auction.com, at a starting bid of $800,000. As of 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, the bidding was up to $900,000. The bid increments are $100,000 and the auction ends shortly after noon on Thursday, Oct. 30.

If Sinker gets his wish, he and everyone else on the Internet who pledges money online will co-own the town. The concept of crowdfunding isn’t new — we’ve seen breweries get built, albums get recorded and that one time a guy wanted to make potato salad and asked for $10.

He made $55,492.

What sets Sinker’s plea apart from other crowdfunding efforts is that he isn’t asking for donations in an official capacity. Instead, he created a Google doc. All you need to do to pledge money (at a minimum of $1,000) is post your Twitter handle and what amount you’re pledging.

No first and last name. No contact information. And seemingly no consequences. No word yet on whether this is just for fun or if Sinker is really serious about putting down a bid but one thing is for sure.

If all those people who signed up to pledge on the Google doc or tweeted about it did buy the town, it would be a really fun place to live.

Below are some of the funniest comments from the Google doc. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the article to read the tweets or click here to view them directly — my favorite is the one with the Gilmore Girls reference!

• “Hey look, we’re going to buy a town,” someone posted in the doc. “Sure, it’s been abandoned for 20 years and sure, it’s in Connecticut (or however you spell it) but it’ll be OUR TOWN.”

• Once a year can the town check the honey badger’s shadow?

• We should put on performances of Our Town. So meta.

• Dibs on the town brewery

• Dibs on the town coffee shop

• Dibs on the house by the lake

• Mayoral chatter: Two of the nominees were Stephen Colbert and Chuck Norris. (Chuck Norris as mayor doesn’t serve constituents — constituents serve Chuck Norris.)

• But all the names were crossed off the list when this inimitable woman was nominated — Dolly Parton.

Just in Case This Doesn’t Work...

As of 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, $98,509 had been pledged by Sinker’s followers. And if buying Johnsonville doesn’t work out, there is a back-up plan.

“Oh hey, on the off chance we don’t win the town, considering donating $ to the local homeless shelter/services in your town,” a note on the Google doc read.

Related Articles:

• Ghost Town Auction Up by $100,000
• Ghost Town For Sale

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Photo Credit: Screengrabs from Vidaao video