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The project was led by Marvin T. Miller, a deaf journalist and M. E. Barwacz (Miller's hearing mother-in-law). He claimed that the financing for the construction of the town, which was to encompass an area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km), was secured by a combination of Miller's own funds and a
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group of private investors. At the peak of planning, 158 families had put themselves on a waiting list to move into the town. In the early stages of the project, Miller and
Barwacz were invited to establish the townsite at
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town" concept, but it apparently was not well-received; no further word has surfaced regarding this project. The website Miller had created to promote his idea on-line has also long since ceased to exist.
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By 2007, a number of factors combined that led Miller and
Barwacz to dissolve the Laurent Company (which had been coordinating efforts to build the town) and relocate to
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As planning progressed, this project was the subject of much "pro" and "con" discussions, the "pro" discussion coming from various organizations including the
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157:, South Dakota as there were many available lots, but this offer was rejected in favor of the site near the I-90 / US 81 interchange.
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Once at
Indiana, Miller made an attempt to interest the community there in his "
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Alexander Graham Bell
Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
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214:"As Town for Deaf Takes Shape, Debate on Isolation Re-emerges"
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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106:Learn how and when to remove this message
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