Population of One: Living Alone in an Abandoned Ghost Town

Eileen Muza is the sole resident of Cisco, Utah, a rural railroad town built in the 1880s and abandoned after a nearby freeway was built. According to her website, Muza has been singlehandedly restoring Cisco’s abandoned homes and trailers using salvaged materials since she acquired the land in 2015. But her project is more challenging than a simple rehab: with no running water, gas station, grocery store or neighbors, the visual artist must work—and fend—for herself. Despite these often-dangerous obstacles, Muza has established a nonprofit artist-in-residency program, Home of the Brave, with the hope that other artists will find their “own inspiration in being alone” beneath the desert sky.