Someplace alongside the winding banks of the Yellowstone River, there’s a city the place the mail nonetheless arrives by hand, the final retailer has been serving locals for greater than a century, and the cabins carry the scent of freshly reduce pine. It’s known as Pray, Montana—and for the precise purchaser, it may all be yours.
This five-acre city, simply 45 minutes from Yellowstone National Park, gives extra than simply property traces. Pray gives a functioning U.S. publish workplace, giving it its personal zip code and holding it formally on the map. The city additionally boasts an over 100-year-old basic retailer, nonetheless working with a tenant, and three Amish-built log cabins, which have turn out to be a comfortable stopover for vacationers heading into the park.
For the previous 5 years, Pray has been run as a thriving short-term rental enterprise, drawing guests from throughout the nation. The property additionally features a duplex, including to its earnings potential. With confirmed financials and a loyal consumer base, the city is greater than an actual property itemizing—it’s a turnkey enterprise wrapped in historical past.
However what makes Pray really distinctive is its publish workplace. Whereas many frontier cities have light into obscurity, Pray nonetheless has its personal zip code—59865—due to this working authorities service. The constructing—a easy white construction with a blue signal out entrance—remains to be a gathering place for locals choosing up their mail. For a purchaser, proudly owning a city with a functioning publish workplace gives a uncommon distinction—and a direct tie to the city’s founding.
After which there’s the mayor—or not less than, Pray’s closest equal. The present proprietor serves because the city’s unelected mayor—a task that comes with a small-town attraction slightly than forms. Yearly, they journey by way of the streets within the annual Pray parade, which begins and ends on the property. It’s the type of quirky, homespun custom that makes Pray really feel much less like an actual property deal and extra like a chapter from a basic American novel.
Established in 1909, Pray was named after congressman Charles Nelson Pray, who represented Montana throughout its early statehood. Like many frontier cities, it was constructed on hopes of railroad growth and westward migration. When new highways bypassed Pray, the city’s function as a journey cease diminished, however it by no means disappeared. The overall retailer remained a fixture, its weathered picket exterior a reminder of the city’s place in Montana’s previous.
Nowadays, Pray’s guests are drawn by its proximity to journey and luxurious escapes. Simply down the highway is the Yellowstone Movie Ranch, the place main Hollywood westerns are being filmed towards Montana’s rugged backdrop. Close by, the Old Saloon in Emigrant—well-known for its reside music and whiskey-fueled nights—gives a style of Montana’s rowdy spirit. For a extra refined expertise, the Sage Lodge, an upscale fly-fishing resort, gives world-class eating, spa providers, and guided outside adventures. And only a few miles away, the Mountain Sky Guest Ranch supplies a basic Montana dude ranch experience, full with horseback using, fly fishing, and breathtaking mountain views. The Yellowstone River, which borders Pray, lures fly fishers and rafters, whereas Yellowstone Nationwide Park itself is simply 45 minutes away, providing a gateway to geysers, wildlife, and limitless trails.
For anybody dreaming of proudly owning a enterprise with built-in earnings, or just eager for a slower tempo of life in Montana’s wide-open areas, Pray gives each. The present proprietor is able to cross the torch, providing the five-acre city and its historic buildings for $2.6 million.
It’s a uncommon probability to personal extra than simply property—you’d be shopping for a chunk of Montana’s story. And with the publish workplace nonetheless open for enterprise, Pray will maintain its place on the map for years to come back.
For extra info, contact Michael Rutkowski at bigskyequity@gmail.com.
