Bodie is part of Bodie
State Historic Park, consisting of 500 acres on a spur range of the
Sierra Nevada, at about 8000 feet above sea level. The land that the
community was built on is high, dry, sandy ground that supports sage
brush and antelope brush, but no trees. It is truly in the middle of
nowhere, about 26 miles from Bridgeport, 15 miles off road from highway
270.
Near the Nevada - California
border, Bodie was home to 10,000 people in its heyday, in the late 1870's.
In 1849, a W.S. Bodie, and his partner, Black Turner discovered large
gold deposits in the hills near where Bodie was destined to be built.
In 1870, investment money from New York, funneled through contacts in
San Francisco, was used to build shaft and tunnel mine systems, improving
the mines' harvest of gold. The town of Bodie bloomed and grew tremendously.
Being a mining town, it had its share of violence, pain, greed and immorality,
though it also had its civilized side as well. It's nick name was "Big
Bad Bodie."
The booming economy revolved
around these 30 gold mines in the hills above the town, which supported
70 saloons, 3 breweries, 3 newspapers, several whorehouses, churches,
pine slat homes, banks and one school.
As is the case in other
mine towns, the population became less and less numerous as the mines
petered out. What helped to quicken the demise of the town was a devastating
fire in 1932 that destroyed 95 percent of the buildings, caused by a
child playing with matches.
However, people still lived
there until after World War 2, when the last producing mine, Lucky Boy
was shut down. Only 6 people were left in town. 5 of the six died untimely,
strange deaths, relating to one of the men shooting his wife. When his
wife died, three of the other men killed the man who shot his wife.
They in turn died of strange diseases after the ghost of the man they
killed appeared to them and shook his fist at them.
Today, 168 of the town's
buildings and homes are still standing, and in good shape. Some date
back all the way to 1849. The houses have the original owners' private
possessions, and give the visitor a good idea about what it was like
to live here. There is a museum of artifacts from the town's history,
located in the Miner's Union Hall building. The main streets are intact,
with a saloon, a bank, a livery stable, various buildings, an inn, a
school and a church.
The graveyard is also still
in good shape. The mines are also still there, though collapsed. One
can see them by tour only.
