Barbara Walker is selling Pray, a five-acre Montana town in the Paradise Valley.

After not seeing any immediate offers in her 1.4 million private listing, she decided to auction it off.

"To see a whole town being auctioned is just so cool- we didn't want to miss this" said Patsy Rutledge, who came from nearby Emigrant with her husand Jerry.

"We want to see what happens to it" said Peggy Murphy, who lives across the street with her husband John. "It's picturesque- we love the little part of history and we don't want to see it go away."

Spectators came to see who would take ownership, and bidders raised their signs.

"I signed up to bid I guess because I know the area and I wondered how things were going" said bidder number seven Rod Olson.

Olson bid as high as $300,000, but said that was his limit. "I went as high as I dared go" he said.

The highest bidder? Philip Levis from Helena. The price? $325,000.

"I discovered Pray about sixteen years ago when I put the post office in and I've always loved this area. I come every year" Levis said.

But Barbara didn't take the bid. And Pray didn't sell.

"I've never been through anything like this, so I wasn't sure what's going on but I just knew that there was something very interesting" she said, adding "It wasn't that we didn't have the interest, but for some reason they weren't revealing themselves in an auction. So I am curious about what is in store."

Pray may not have a new owner, but the chapter of this story isn't over.

Barbara says she'll still waiting for the right person to come along, and take the town in a new direction.