Bodie State Historic Park

When a little girl writes in her diary “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie” you know her destination isn’t a pleasant one— not in the 1880s anyway when she penned that entry. The child’s name is unknown, but her words have became famous throughout the West to describe her family’s move to Bodie, California— once known as the Wildest Mining Camp in the West. Today, the lawlessness is long gone. Now a State Historic Park, Bodie is the nation's biggest unreconstructed ghost town, and provides an authentic look back into California’s mining history.

Founded in 1859, the town was named for Waterman S. Bodey (also known as William S. Bodey) who first discovered gold in the area. Well off the beaten path, Bodie offered an opportunity for hard rock miners to strike it rich. The chance to make a fortune was so appealing to so many, that gold seekers rushed here in the late 1870s despite the notorious robberies, murders, and street fights that occurred nearly every day. Story has it that the fire bell tolled the ages of the deceased when they were buried; this town’s bell rang often and long!

The weather in Bodie was just as bad as the crime. In fact, the weather killed the town’s namesake. While returning with supplies, Mr. Bodey died in a snowstorm the same year the town was established. The winters here haven’t changed much and are still beyond inhospitable. With winds up to 100 miles per hour, temperatures dropping to 30 degrees below zero, and snow 20 feet deep, Bodie is the coldest spot in the United States outside of Alaska. Because it is perched at an elevation of 8,379 feet, it’s often cold and windy in summer, too. Be prepared for any weather when you visit.

From about 1877 through the 1880s, this gold mining town was booming and bustling. The population of miners, merchants, gamblers, entrepreneurs, and their families exceeded 10,000. Some people got rich. From the onset of mining through about 1941, the 30 different mining companies that operated in the Bodie Mining District produced close to $100 million in gold and silver (gold was then about $20 an ounce; silver was less than a dollar an ounce). The Standard Mine was the most profitable, yielding nearly $15 million over 25 years. It was actually this mine’s success that caused the 1878 rush to Bodie.

What's left of Bodie—about 170 buildings and the Standard Mill— represents just five percent of what was standing in its heydey. There are no re-creations or restorations here. Everything is officially in a state of "arrested decay," meaning only minimal repairs are made on the remaining structures. Some are literally falling down. Bodie has been left pretty much the way it was when the residents left— which would have been anytime up through the 1940s, when the last stragglers pulled up stakes. The town’s cemetery is still in use though, as the last of the old-time miners settle into their final resting places.

Touring Bodie today is mostly self-guided. You’re free to wander and get an up close look at how the ravages of time and Mother Nature have affected one of the most renowned and rowdy hard rock mining settlements of the Eastern Sierra. Pick up a walking map/brochure for $2 in the parking lot. The numbered paragraphs in the brochure correspond to numbered posts (that haven’t blown or fallen down) along the streets, and to numbers on the map.

To read the rest of the article, click on the image below to download a .pdf.

This photo feature appears in the January/February 2013 issue of GPAA's Gold Prospector Magazine.