The Ghost Town of Bodie California

Bodie California is a town frozen in time, and preserved by California State Parks in a state of “arrested decay.” Bodie became a State Historic Park in 1962, and maintains the buildings just as they were found when the State took over the town and they do not restore the buildings, instead choosing to simply preserve the buildings in their aged and weathered 1880s appearance.

Bodie's story began in 1859, after the major Gold Rush period in California. When four prospectors struck gold in a small valley 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. The prospectors came to this specific part of California, known as the Mother Lode region, in search of the much sought after gold. This small, gold-laden valley and the now developed mining outpost was hit by a violent blizzard shortly after the four prospectors discovered the gold. W.S. Body, one of the four, died as a result from the blizzard. This death gave the freshly settled district its name.

The district’s name’s spelling changed in 1862 when a painter who lived in the next town over wrote a sign that read “ Bodie Stables.” When the residents loved the misspelling better than the original “Body,” the district permanently changed it to “Bodie.”

Bodie California is one of the largest, best-preserved ghost towns in the United States. It covers about 500 acres of land. Here are some pictures of various locations of the town.

In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By then, the town of Bodie bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters, prostitutes, and people from every country in the world. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and ‘houses of ill repute’, gambling halls and opium dens – an entertainment outlet for everyone.

Here’s the Standard mill, which processed ore from the Standard Mine. (The mine was originally named the Bunker Hill mine when it was first registered in 1861.) Most of the inner workings are still in tact. During the summer months Park Aides conduct a history talk and guided tour (for a fee) where you can see some of the interior of the mill. There is a limit on the number of people per tour, and they only do a few tours a day, so make sure the Museum is your first stop when you get in town to get your tickets, as they do sell out. You can also book private group tours if you contact the Park.

On a daily basis miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would sometimes prove fatal. Newspapers reported that townspeople would ask in the mornings “Have we a man for breakfast?” Meaning ‘Did anyone get killed last night?’

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 hopeful people. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 7,000–10,000 people and around 2,000 buildings. One legend says that in 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city. Over the years 1860–1941 Bodie's mines produced gold and silver valued at an estimated $34 million (in 1986 dollars, or $85 million in 2021).

As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners' and mechanics' union, 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. As with other remote mining towns, Bodie had a popular red light district on the north end of town.

There was also a Chinatown and at one point and it had several hundred Chinese residents along with a Taoist temple. Opium dens were plentiful in this area.

This is a map from of w:Bodie, California for fire insurance purposes. Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Bodie also had a cemetery on the outskirts of town and a nearby mortuary. It is the only building in the town built of red brick three courses thick, most likely for insulation to keep the air temperature steady during the cold winters and hot summers. The cemetery includes a Miners Union section, and a monument erected to honor President James A. Garfield. The Bodie Boot Hill was located outside of the official city cemetery.

Here is a picture of the cemetery.

Some pictures of the mortuary.

It didn’t take long for the inevitable in Bodie; a mere couple years after the immaculate growth of the town, the decline began to set in. The expensive machinery used in the multiple mines and mills needed more expensive upkeep and supplies. Hardly any gold was being found anymore. Residents weren’t able to work in a mining town that wasn’t much mining of anything. A few mines that seemed so hopeful just a year or two prior were completely abandoned and the developed companies weren’t coming out with much more than mere silver.

Even before the new year of 1881 people began leaving Bodie, trying to find the next profitable town. The boomtown’s population dwindled and dwindled until it reached a tiny population of about 800.

For those 800 people, Bodie had just enough left in it to support them for three more decades; however, barely. While some companies were still able to continue digging their mines, when they would find gold, it was hardly enough for the company, let alone the workers. Finally the digging and mining stopped, proving fruitless.

The already low profit coming into Bodie continued to fluctuate but ultimately it plummeted. Companies tried to cut down on expenses anyway they could, but more residents left. The very first company to form from Bodie's prime, the Standard Company, gave up in 1913, deeming Bodie depleted of riches. The Standard was the town’s most wealthy mine and company. The remaining handful of companies still open continued the struggle to stay afloat.

The years following Standard’s closing, some hopeful prospectors tried to revive Bodie's hills and mines, but to no avail. New technology of the 1900s motivated companies to attempt to build Bodie's economy again. By the time World War II and its hardships hit, barren Bodie was abandoned once again. Not long after, Bodie's population dropped to zero.

Residents left whatever they couldn’t carry behind in Bodie. Old shelves in general stores and bars were left stocked, people left furniture and structures all behind.

Boone Store and Warehouse. Chock full of hundreds of interesting artifacts from the years gone by, this 1879 building was owned by Harvey Boone (incidentally, a direct descendant of Daniel Boone). In July 1884 this building was almost destroyed by a fire that gobbled up the buildings from Boone’s store to Kingsley’s stables – almost the entire block of Green Street.

Of the many items still in the store are several original Edison light bulbs that have been continuously burning for several years. Displayed in the front-right window, you can see familiar name brands from today, such as "Kellogg's Tasteless Castor Oil", "St Joseph's Aspirin", and "Colgate medicated powder".

The Warehouse.

When you first walk into town from the parking lot, the large building on the left is the Methodist Church. The structure was built in 1882 and was one of the two churches in town. The last standard church service was conducted in 1932, when all but a few families had left Bodie. The small wooden structure to the front-right of the entrance is a wood shed that was added on after the church was originally built.

There were no churches in Bodie until 1882, although there were two preachers; Reverend Hinkle – a Methodist, and Father Cassin – a Roman Catholic. They originally held services in private homes, then in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) Building or the Miner’s Union Hall.

The McDonald House

The Bodie Jail was built in 1877 and cost about $800. It’s approximately 14 feet x 18 feet, and has two cells. It’s been written that the jail wasn’t built very well, but it certainly saw a lot of “guests”. Purportedly, only one prisoner ever escaped. Bail was usually $5 for misdemeanors.

This is the Stuart Kirkwood Livery Stable. During Bodie’s boom time, hundreds and hundreds of horses and wagons were needed to run the town. No doubt this building has seen a lot of horseshoes, broken wagon wheels, and worn yolks and harnesses.

J.S. Cain bought The Bodie Bank in 1890 from E. L. Benedict after making quite a large fortune from a block of ground in the Standard Mine. From then on, Cain would be investing and building in the town quite a bit. The 1932 fire that destroyed most of the town also destroyed the bank and all that is left is the bank vault pictured below.

Sam Leon Bar and Barber Shop.

At one point in time, there were four fire companies for Bodie! At one point, a fire broke out at the Central Market, and all four companies came to the rescue. There wasn’t a problem until they all tried to hook up their hoses to the hydrant. Who had the authority!? Who was going to be the one to put the fire out!? Luckily for Bodie, shortly thereafter, all four companies were combined into one and fire districts were laid out for them to serve.

Wheaton and Hollis Hotel and Bodie Store. In 1885-86, this building served as the United States Land Office. The Land Office was established on January 5th, 1879 and was moved here later. It’s purpose was to handle the applications for the purchase of the government land, and to receive the money for those lands. H. Z. Osborne was the first ‘Receiver of Public Monies for the Land Office, and proved to be quite crooked. When purchasing timber land, an ad had to be placed in a local paper for the public to see. Osborne allegedly waited until he purchased a portion of the Bodie Free Press, then placed 32 ads at once. Not only that, he charged $15 for each ad, which he then placed for only $10 each. He continued to do this until the Standard (another paper in the area) published a line at the top of their advertising page, stating that ads were just $10. Osborne quickly stopped charging his amount.

The schoolhouse is one of the better looking buildings in town. It was originally the Bon Ton Lodging House in 1879, but was later converted to the school house, after the first one was burned down. A view from inside the schoolhouse, gives you the feeling that the children are just out at play during a break. The town was abandoned so abruptly, that thousands and thousands of artifacts were simply left behind because they were too heavy, or too much to haul from one place to another.

Of the many books, desks and toys left behind, only a portion are seen here. Hundreds more are in a back room of the school being used as an archive of sorts.

Swazey Hotel. Since Bodie is in a “state of arrested decay,” some buildings need to be shored up to keep them from falling down. The Swazey Hotel has been leaning like this for some time now – who knows how long it will stay this way…

At different times, this building served as a clothing store, casino, and finally The Swazey Hotel.

The Dechambeau Hotel and I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) buildings. At one time, the I.O.O.F. hall was bustling with meetings, and later became a “health club” of the times, where members would come to use the barbells and primitive workout machines. And the Dechambeau Hotel, late in the life of the town of Bodie, was also the “Bodie Cafe,” one of the last businesses in town.

Inside one of the old homes.

The Bodie Miners’ Union was organized on December 22, 1877. The Miners’ Union Hall building was completed on June 28, 1878. Today, the Hall is the hub of activity in Bodie, as the home of the museum for Bodie State Historic Park, as well as the location to get tour times, purchase tour tickets, and buy merchandise to support the Bodie Foundation.

Near the old Gas Station.

Some Random pictures.

Today, even though Bodie is down a dusty, bumpy, slow, thirteen mile long road off State Highway 395, it’s amazing how many people are aware of this once glorious town. The last three miles of the road are a dirt road so be prepared for potholes.

Fill up on gas before you come because the closest gas station is about 75 miles away. Closest gas is in Bridgeport or Lee Vining (depending on which direction you are coming from).

Before you going to the park remember there are NO services near Bodie so bring food and plenty of water.

I would recommend planning on spending a full day here because there is a lot to see and the entire town really does cover over 500 acres. Try to do the mine tour and remember they are only done twice a day and you get the tickets in the museum.

This is a very family friendly thing to do but only certain parts are wheelchair accessible. If you do plan on coming here with a wheelchair please note that everything is dirt and there are no paved roads.