Discovery of gold Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including
W. S. Bodey. Bodey died in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present-day
Mono City), never able to see the rise of the town that was named after him. According to area pioneer Judge J. G. McClinton, the district's name had been "Bodey," "Body," and a few other orthographic variations. After a painter in the nearby
boomtown of
Aurora lettered a sign "Bodie Stables," it was then standardized to "Bodie." Gold discovered at Bodie coincided with the discovery of silver at nearby Aurora (thought to be in California, later found to be 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. and around 2,000 buildings. One legend says that in 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city, but the U.S. Census of that year disproves this. Over the years 1860–1941 Bodie's mines produced gold and silver valued at an estimated The first newspaper,
The Standard Pioneer Journal of Mono County, published its first edition on October 10, 1877. Starting as a weekly, it soon expanded publication to three times a week. It was also during this time that a telegraph line was built which connected Bodie with Bridgeport and
Genoa, Nevada. Men from both states were lured to Bodie by the prospect of another bonanza. Gold
bullion from the town's nine stamp mills was shipped to
Carson City, Nevada, by way of
Aurora,
Wellington, and
Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by armed guards. After the
bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint there, or sent by rail to the
mint in San Francisco.
Districts and amenities 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, though clandestine,
red light district on the north end of town. There is an unsubstantiated story of
Rosa May, a prostitute who, in the style of
Florence Nightingale, came to the aid of the town menfolk when a serious
epidemic struck the town at the height of its boom. She is credited with giving life-saving care to many, but after she died she was buried outside the cemetery fence. and a
cenotaph erected to honor
President James A. Garfield. The Bodie
Boot Hill was located outside of the official city cemetery. On Main Street stands the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions. It also served as an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum.
Mining town The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious toward the end of the year. Promising mining booms in
Butte, Montana;
Tombstone, Arizona; and
Utah lured men away from Bodie. Also in 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built called the
Bodie Railway & 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 from 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 1892, the Standard Company built its own
hydroelectric plant approximately away at Dynamo Pond. The plant developed a maximum of and 3,530
volts alternating current (AC) to power the company's 20-stamp mill. This pioneering installation marked the country's first transmissions of electricity over a long distance. In 1910, the population was recorded at 698 people, which were predominantly families who decided to stay in Bodie instead of moving on to other prosperous strikes.
Decline {{US Census population 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". They referred to two hotels and a railroad operating there. In 1913, the Standard Consolidated Mine closed. Mining profits in 1914 were at a low of $6,821 (~$ in ). Bodie was first described as a "ghost town" in 1915. In a time when auto travel was on the rise, many travelers reached Bodie via automobiles. The
San Francisco Chronicle published an article in 1919 to dispute the "ghost town" label. By 1920, Bodie's population was recorded by the US Federal Census at a total of 120 people. Despite the decline and a severe fire in the business district in 1932, Bodie had permanent residents through nearly half of the 20th century. A post office operated at Bodie from 1877 to 1942. Martin Gianettoni, one of the last three people living in Bodie in 1943, was a caretaker. Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town. Visitors arrive mainly via
SR 270, which runs from
US 395 near
Bridgeport to the west; the last three miles of it is a dirt road. There is also a road to
SR 167 near Mono Lake in the south, but this road is extremely rough, with more than 10 miles of dirt track in a bad state of repair. Due to heavy snowfall, the roads to Bodie are usually closed in winter. Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of
arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survived, with about 110 structures still standing, including one of many once operational gold mills. 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. Littered throughout the park, one can find small shards of china dishes, square nails, and an occasional bottle, but removing these items is illegal. The
California State Parks'
ranger station is located in one of the original homes on Green Street. In 2009 and again in 2010, Bodie was scheduled to be closed. The California state legislature worked out a budget compromise that enabled the state's Parks Closure Commission to keep it open. As of 2024, the park is still operating, now administered by the Bodie Foundation. == Climate ==