Nebraska town called Gross – home to just TWO PEOPLE – swells to more than ten times its size after couple track down town founder’s descendants and invite them to a special Thanksgiving feast
- Town of Gross in Nebraska has a population of just two people, a married couple
- But it swelled to more than ten times its size because of a Thanksgiving feast
- Mary and Mike Finnegan have run a restaurant in the town for the past 33 years
- With the help of Ancestry.com, they tracked down and invited all of their family
An American town that has a population of just two people swelled to more than ten times its size because of a special Thanksgiving feast.
The tiny town of Gross, in Nebraska, used to be home to more than 600 people but now counts Mary and Mike Finnegan as its only residents.
When roads and railways were built in the nearby area, they skipped Gross, leading to residents moving out.
However, with the help of Ancestry.com, Mary and Mike were able to track down all of their family members for a special Thanksgiving meal.
The couple have run the town’s only restaurant, The Nebraska Inn, for the past 33 years.
Friends and visitors constantly pass through the restaurant to taste Mary’s ‘famous’ pan-fried chicken and coffee.
She also bakes 10 delicious homemade pies every Monday and they quickly sell out by Tuesday evening.
Married couple Mike and Mary Finnegan (pictured) are the only remaining residents of Nebraskan town Gross
The town’s welcome sign reads ‘Gross, Pop.2’ but before the exodus, it used to number more than 600.
The couple used researchers at Ancestry.com to track down their family and the descendants of the Gross family, who were the town’s founders.
They then invited them to the meal as special guests.
Mary said: ‘Gross is kind of the heart of the community.
The couple hosted a Thanksgiving feast where they invited relatives and descendants of the town to come and enjoy a meal
‘It’s where everyone meets and has coffee to discuss the problems and the blessings of the day. It’s just a very home-oriented place.’
The feast took place a few days before Thanksgiving, which will actually see Gross completely empty as the couple plan to drive to their daughter’s house in a nearby town.