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in: Pages with reference errors, Articles needing cleanup, Abandoned cities and towns

Bodie, California

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History[]

Discovery of gold[]

Bodie began as a mining camp following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W.S. Bodey (first name uncertain).[1][2][3] According to area pioneer, Judge J.G. McClinton, the district's name was changed from "Bodey," "Body," and a few other phonetic variations, to "Bodie," after a painter in the nearby boomtown of Aurora lettered a sign "Bodie Stables"[4][5] Gold discovered at Bodie coincided with the discovery of silver at nearby Aurora, Nevada, and the distant Comstock Lode beneath Virginia City, Nevada. But while these two towns boomed, interest in Bodie remained lackluster. By 1868 only two companies had built stamp mills at Bodie, and both had failed.[2]

Boom[]

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. Rich discoveries in the adjacent Bodie Mine during 1878 attracted even more people.[2] By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5000–7000 people[6][7] and around 2,000 buildings. One idea maintains that in 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city,[8] but the U.S. Census of that year disproves that fallacy.[9] Over the years, Bodie's mines produced gold valued at nearly $34 million.[10]

Bodie boomed from late 1877 through mid- to late 1880.[11] The first newspaper, The Standard Pioneer Journal of Mono County, published its first edition on October 10, 1877. It was also during this time that a telegraph line was built which connected Bodie with Bridgeport and Genoa, Nevada.[12] California and Nevada newspapers predicted Bodie would become the next Comstock Lode.[13][14][15] People from both states were lured to Bodie by the prospect of another bonanza.[16]

Geography of the boomtown[]

800px-Bodie ghost town edit1

Bodie, California, as seen from the hill, looking towards the cemetery

As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including two banks, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, a railroad, miners' and mechanics' unions, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.[17] Bodie also had a Chinatown, the main street of which ran at a right angle to Bodie's Main Street,[12] with several hundred Chinese residents at one point, and included a Taoist temple. Opium dens were also plentiful in this area.[12]

Bodie also had a cemetery on the outskirts of town and a nearby mortuary. The cemetery was Miners Union Cemetery, and included a cenotaph to President James A. Garfield.[18]

On Main Street stood the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions and an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum.

Decline[]

The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious towards the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana, Tombstone, Arizona, and Utah lured people away from Bodie.[11] The get-rich quick, single miners who originally came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, which eventually turned Bodie into a family-oriented community. Two examples of this settling were the construction of the Methodist Church (which currently stands) and the Roman Catholic Church (which was burned in about 1930), both of which were constructed in 1882. Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881 Bodie's ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million.[10] Also in 1881, a narrow gauge railroad was built called the Bodie Railway and Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.

During the early 1890s, Bodie enjoyed a short revival seen in technological advancements in the mines that continued to support the town. In 1890, the recently invented cyanide process promised to recover gold and silver from discarded mill tailings and from low-grade ore bodies that had been passed over. In 1893, the Standard Company built its own hydroelectric plant, located approximately 12.5 miles (20.1 km) away on Green Creek, above Bridgeport, California. The plant developed a maximum of 130 horsepower (kw) and 6,600 volts alternating current (AC) to power the company's 20-stamp mill. This pioneering installation is marked as one of the country's first transmissions of electricity over a long distance.[19]

In 1910, the population was recorded at 698 people, which were predominantly families that decided to stay in Bodie instead of moving on to other prosperous strikes.

The US Census Population reflected the drop of Bodie's residents, from a high of 2,712 in 1880 down to only 90 by 1940. footnote=Source:[20]

The first signs of an official decline occurred in 1912 with the printing of the last Bodie newspaper, The Bodie Miner. In a 1913 book titled California tourist guide and handbook: authentic description of routes of travel and points of interest in California, the authors, Wells and Aubrey Drury described Bodie as a "mining town, which is the center of a large mineral region" and provided reference to two hotels and a railroad operating there.[21] In 1913, the Standard Consolidated Mine closed. Mining profits in 1914 were at a low of $6,821.[10] James S. Cain was buying up everything from the town lots to the mining claims, and reopened the Standard mill to former employees, which resulted in an over $100,000 profit in 1915.[2] However, this financial growth was not in time to stop the town's decline. In 1917, the Bodie Railway was abandoned and its iron tracks were scrapped. The last mine closed in 1942, due to War Production Board order L-208, shutting down all nonessential gold mines in the United States. Mining never resumed.[2][3][22]

The first label of Bodie as a "ghost town" was in 1915.[23] In a time when auto travel was on a rise, many were adventuring into Bodie via automobiles. The San Francisco Chronicle published an article in 1919 to dispute the "ghost town" label.[24] By 1920, Bodie's population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline, Bodie had permanent residents through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932. A post office operated at Bodie from 1877 to 1942.[1]

In the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. The Cain family, who owned much of the land the town is situated upon, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town's structures.[25]

Abandonment[]

Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town.[26] The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961,[27] and in 1962 it became Bodie State Historic Park. A total of 170 buildings remained.[25] Bodie has been named California's official state gold rush ghost town.[28]

Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survives. Visitors can walk the deserted streets of a town that once was a bustling area of activity. Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Bodie is open all year, but the long road that leads to the town is usually closed in the winter due to heavy snowfall, so the majority of visitors to the park come during the summer months.

The California State Parks' National Park Service Ranger station is located in one of the original homes on Green Street.

In 2009, Bodie was scheduled to be closed, but the California state legislature was able to work out a budget compromise that enabled the state's Parks Closure Commission to allow it to remain open, at least during the 2009–2010 fiscal year. [29] The California state legislature was able to work out a budget compromise that enabled the state's Parks Closure Commission to allow it to remain open. As of 2012, the park is still operating, now administered by the Bodie Foundation.

Notes[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:California's Geographic Names
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Piatt book
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Template:Cite journal
  4. ↑ McClinton, J.G, "Cold History Condensed." Daily Bodie Standard 29 October 1879.
  5. ↑ Warren Loose. Bodie Bonanza: The True Story of a Flamboyant Past. (New York, NY: Exposition Press, 1971), p. 26-28
  6. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  7. ↑ Template:Cite web
  8. ↑ Template:Cite web
  9. ↑ Template:Cite web
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Template:Cite book
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Template:Cite book
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named The Story of Bodie
  13. ↑ Template:Cite news
  14. ↑ Template:Cite news
  15. ↑ Template:Cite book
  16. ↑ Template:Cite news
  17. ↑ Template:Cite book
  18. ↑ Template:Cite web
  19. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  20. ↑ Template:Cite book
  21. ↑ Template:Cite book
  22. ↑ Template:Cite book
  23. ↑ Template:Cite news
  24. ↑ Template:Cite news
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Template:Cite journal
  26. ↑ Template:Cite journal
  27. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nhlsum
  28. ↑ http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=00001-01000&file=420-429.8
  29. ↑ bodiefoundation.org Helping to preserve Bodie State Historic Park, Bodie Foundation, March 4, 2010

References[]

  • Bodie State Historic Park: resource management plan, general development plan and environmental impact report, R.A. Calloway, 1979, Calif. Dept. of Parks and Recreation
  • Historical material on the mining town of Bodie, California: a critical bibliography, W.T. Jackson, 1962, California Division of Beaches and Parks
  • The ghost town of Bodie, as reported in the newspapers of the day, A. Johnson, 1967, Chalfant Press for Sierra Media
  • Bodie, boom town-gold town: the last of California's old-time mining camps, D. McDonald,1988, Nevada Publications
  • Photographing Bodie: a photographer's guide to the ghost town of Bodie, California, T. I. Morse, L. Joseph, Global Preservation Projects
  • Bodie: "The Mines Are Looking Well..., Michael H. Piatt, 2003, North Bay Books
  • Retailers Protective Association, Delinquent list of Virginia City, Gold Hill, Carson and Reno Nevada, and Bodie, California, 1880
  • Bodie, 1859–1900, F.S. Wedertz, 1969, Chalfant Press

Links[]


This article uses material from the Bodie, California Wikipedia article and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

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