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"Only one thing is for certain... change."
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The Bodie Story
After two devastating fires, and 80 years of life, Bodie finally died as a town in 1942. The remaining residents finally left, leaving its structures and inspiring story to history. In 1962, the state of California was proud to designate Bodie Ghost
"One man died a fortnight ago. Did no one know what has happened?"
It was from 1865-1930 when Bodie, California was described as, "the most lawless town in the West", the reigning king of gold mines and one of California's greatest stories. Founded by William Bodey (mispelling intentional) in 1850, the camp soon went into prospecting and grew a rapid population of over 13,000 residents. During its heyday from 1865-1888, Bodie's largest mine, the Standard, produced over $90 million in gold, an amount that has been unmatched by any other mine in our state's history.
Over 2,000 structures stood in Bodie from 1865-1892. The town had over 50 hotels, 20 general stores, 10 working mines, 20 red-light houses, 10 Union Halls, and 1 schoolhouse. Bodie even had a Chinatown, a baseball team, and 20 newspapers that ran daily and weekly. Needless to say, Bodie was a bustling mining camp for many years. Only a thousand or so residents actually owned a home. The rest were forced to live in tents and makeshift houses. It's relatively high and remote location made it virtually inaccessible and inhospitable to allow survival. The ghost town, located in a small valley, is completely surrounded by the Bodie Hills, a small and lofty range in the Great Basin desert... almost a hundred miles miles away from any town of significant size. Wagons trying to reach the ghost town were often robbed by range thieves, and the drivers or passengers were killed on spot. If that weren't enough, water was an extremely rare resource in Bodie and just trying to find a spring or some source of water was very difficult. Most of the water in Bodie had to be transported from the many rivers and streams located 20 miles W of the town in the Sierra Nevada. This forced the price of water to skyrocket, making whisky much cheaper to purchase than a glass of water. Despite all of the structures in town and all of Bodie's success, it's easy to see that this was a town that truly suffered from hardship.
Perhaps the most intriguing story of Bodie was the infamous, "Bad Man From Bodie", who struck fear into the hearts of all. The "Bad Man" was not a man at all. In fact, "The Bad Man from Bodie" was instead a symbol of every hardship that Bodie endured throughout its 65 year lifetime. Among these were the elements (which killed most people in Bodie). Located at an 8,400 foot elevation, snow drifts reached over 3 feet in height, literally burying people alive or freezing them to death inside of their homes and tents. Malnutrition, thirst and famine killed most of Bodie's youngest victims, victims who were less than 8 years old. Suicides were an all too common hardship when drunken miners went a little too crazy at the Faro Tables. The hard working miners of Bodie who risked life and limb everyday to earn a daily pay of $4 were lucky if they lived past the age of 25. Bodie's 'red light district' profited from the young dames who lured tired miners into quick relaxation. It wasn't an easy life, and those who did work in the district were rarely well-respected as town residents. And of course, the occasional, but rare gunslinging madman who roamed into town was another one of Bodie's "bad men".
Town a state historic park. Bodie is most inspiring because of its way of relating to our today's society. Bodie's racism and prejudism were prime. When an unknown accident occured, or a mysterious death happened in town, the majority anglo population blamed the Chinese, the Irish, the Mexican or Native American residents for these happenings. Even if someone had to blame somebody else, it was often the little guy. Most of Bodie's residents were poor, and could barely afford a cost of living. Only a few of Bodie's residents were wealthy and could show off their wealth in many ways... except in ways that didn't benefit the town. Yet, of all these things, and stricken dreams, the people of Bodie still had a dream and still strived to make something of their life. Others simply ended it and didn't give life a chance to enlighten them. All of these things are what make our society today. Most people don't realize that we have such history like Bodie to thank for that. Even when there was hardship going on, people still tried to make the best life they could... not much different from today's world is it? Bodie is real, a real town, with real feelings and it's easy to feel this when you walk its empty streets or peer into its empty buildings. Things sit just as they did many years ago, untouched and undisturbed by today's hands. Today, the park sits in a state of "arrested decay" only giving its life, to the elements.
- Anonymous, circa 1890, Bodie newspaperman
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