Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • 12

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 www.rapidcityjournal.com Rapid City Journal A12 Capa maim enjoys smallest town livin By Mike Ferguson Capital Journal CAPA Philip O'Connor admits to being a bit of a recluse. And in his case, that's not only a good thing; it's a necessity. "Don't get me wrong. I like l7 II ill A I IV. "c-i r.

torn- Oct. 27, 1960, when the railroad stopped passenger train service here," O'Connor recalled. "That was tough on this town. Soon after that, the town started to shut down, and the buildings started to fall apart, and the people moved to where the Jobs were. Now, it is just me." O'Connor is not exaggerating: It Is just him.

The same 70-year-old whose family helped build Capa into a popular destination for the first half of the 19th century is now the town's only resident. Welcome to Capa. Population: One. "I guess you see a lot of towns across these parts or across the country that have Just a few people, maybe four or five or so, but then, one by one, those folks start leaving or passing away. And then, the town Just kind of disappears." O'Connor said.

"So I guess having a town with a population of one is kind of rare." Remote drive Capa is In the far northwest corner of Jones County, five miles south of Stanley County and four miles east of Haakon County. There are two ways to get to Capa. From the west. It's a dusty 15-minute drive from Midland. Just take Main Street out of Midland until it becomes a windy, gravel road.

Then, turn right at the cemetery where O'Connor's mom is buried and stay on that road don't bother looking for a street sign for Mike Ferguson --Capital journal railroad halted passenger service in 1960. Now, the town only has one resident, Philip O'Connor, 70, who descends from the founding family. Old buildings stand in Capa as seen July 27. For more than five decades, the population of Capa was about 300, but the town's once-profitable economy dried up when the being around other people. But yes, I do tend to be a bit reclusive." the quick-talking, mild-mannered 70-year-old said.

O'Connor lives in a modest one-bedroom house, the same home his great-grandfather Arthur McConnvllle bought for S400 in 1916. He spends his days tending to his house and property, reading about the history of churches, watching documentaries and sports on television and playing with his loyal canine companion, a spunky 3-year-old short black-haired mixed breed named Midnight. A few members of O'Connor's family live in Omaha, others are in Seattle. His mother. Helen, lived in the family home with O'Connor, but she passed away two years ago.

The hard-working O'Connor is pretty much on his own now. "And that's fine with me," he said. "It's a tough life at times, but it's the only life I have ever known." Perhaps such a life is not all that unusual for someone in the early-to-middle years of his retirement. It's the city or the size of the city that O'Connor calls his hometown that makes his story so noteworthy. Population: One The town of Capa was founded in 1907.

Over the next five-plus decades, Capa's population swelled to 300 or so. There was and technically there still is a two-story hotel with seven rooms upstairs. There was and technically there still is an old-fashioned small schoolhouse, a church with a steeple, a bank with a concrete vault, a records office and a few quaint houses for Capa residents and the school teachers. That all came to an end on They pretty much Just take up space on the land and that's about it." O'Connor said of the slow-moving cattle. "You have to have some other form of life out here." Truth be told, O'Connor does not know what to call Capa.

Is it a town, a city or simply a dusty 75 acres? "I am not sure if the city was ever officially incorporated, so maybe I should look into that," O'Connor said. And is Capa where O'Connor wants to remain as he ventures further into his retirement? There are some trust issues with the land and the town that my family in Seattle are dealing with, so I am not sure what is going to happen in the next few years," he said. "My family helped build this town. My great-grandfather bought this house and then bought the hotel right after that. I have always lived here, and 1 am very comfortable here." time I make the drive," a smiling O'Connor said.

"He sits right next to me and keeps me company." What was the block-wide city square is now a small prairie dog colony. And if trouble brews, a Jones County sheriff out of Murdo, the country seat, is only a phone call and 15 miles away. "But there's not a lot of trouble with the law around here," quipped O'Connor. "It's Just me, and I keep to myself. I don't like to cause a lot of trouble." Through attrition.

O'Connor owns the 75 acres that includes all of Capa. He owns the land, his home and the bruised structures that used to be the hotel, church, school house, bank and records office. "And it's cheap living here," O'Connor said. "I pay $146 in taxes a year. You can't beat that." He has about 10 head of cattle.

have gotten used to it." O'Connor has electricity and a phone. His daily mail is deposited in the large, bright-yellow mailbox 15 feet from his front door. "I got a little Direct TV dish so I could watch television, because I have to have something to do out here," O'Connor said. "And I like to watch television. I love churches and history, and there are a lot of good channels on television that deal with history, so I enjoy that a lot." O'Connor sometimes drives into Midland if he needs something simple.

There is a small grocery store inside Midland Fuel. There are two cafes, a lounge, a bank and a post office in the town of about 200. He makes trips into Pierre once or twice a week for everything else: major purchases, repairs to his truck and Midnight's veterinary needs. "And he rides with me every That's the way I go into Fort Pierre or Pierre," O'Connor said. "But it's not the smoothest of trips.

My pickup truck doesn't go as fast as it used to. It's a 1969 Chevrolet with 522,000 miles on it, so I have to watch my speed." Rustic living O'Connor's small house is comfortable but hardly modern. The plumbing is outdoors. He gets water for cooking and other daily needs from a well 200 yards away. He gets his drinking water from Pierre.

"I take some gas cans with me and fill them up and bring them back," O'Connor said. There is no central air or heat. He uses fans to try and keep cool in the summer. And in the winter? "Well, it gets cold, so the winters are tough," O'Connor admitted. "But as I said, this is the only life I have known, so I about 10 miles.

Then, Just look for the cows sitting under the tree and turn right and there you are," O'Connor said. From the east, Capa is about a 90-minute drive from Fort Pierre. It's 40 miles of so-so sledding on the up-and-down Bad River Road through the hills. Then, take a left on Capa Road there's a street sign in this case. Capa is eight miles straight ahead.

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