Last week, I described the start of our vacation in early June, a road trip through parts of California with my husband, my mother-in-law, and her dog. We began in eastern California. At the end of the first day, drove north of Mono Lake to explore the ghost town of Bodie, which is very close to the Nevada border. I had never heard of Bodie before this trip, but my mother-in-law had visited it in the past and wanted to do so again. This was fine with me, as I’d never seen a true ghost town before. You’ll find more information and lots of photos below the fold…
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Bodie started out as a mining camp after gold was discovered there in 1859. The town was named after a prospector, W. S. Bodey, who died in a blizzard while on a trip to obtain provisions for the camp. However, it remained a camp consisting of prospectors until a large deposit of gold-bearing ore was discovered in 1876. Then Bodie was transformed into a wild west boomtown, complete with a red light district and a Chinatown. Sixty-five saloons lined the main street. By 1879, its population had swelled to something in the range of 5,000 to 7,000 residents.
Bodie’s most profitable years were from 1877 through the late 1880s. The mines of the town continued to produce gold into the early part of the 20th Century, but at a much lower rate than in the previous decades. Over its lifetime, Bodie produced more than $ 33 million dollars worth of gold (but I’m not sure what year’s dollar we’re talking about here—that’s just what the sign said).
By 1910, the town’s population had dropped below 700. In 1942, as part of the war effort, the Federal Government order that gold mining cease, and that was essentially the end of Bodie as a town. After 20 years, Bodie was designated a National Historic Landmark and a State Park. (In the intervening years, private caretaker tended to what remained of the town so that vandals did not damage it.)
Bodie is at an altitude of nearly 8,400 feet, and getting there involves climbing o a winding road that goes from paved to gravel in its last miles. Here’s a view of Main Street:
A closer look at the Church (apparently Methodist):
The interior of a house:
The gray buildings in the distance were the ore-processing facility. You can still see some of the mine tailings in the distance.
This, I believe, was the pharmacy:
More shots of detritus and decay…
The next day, we took the Walker Pass into Placerville, where the original gold rush took place—as well as other important history, as I learned. Please tay tuned for future installments.
Now, on to the comments!
Top Comments (June 28, 2016):
From 88kathy:
An exchange between bigtimecynic and 4mygirls (starting here) on the semantics of men’s and women’s fashion caused a certain amount of cosmic revelation. From Kerry Eleveld’s front page post Clinton, Warren work tag-team magic on Trump’s “thin skin.”
From your humble diarist:
dconrad applies a recently created meme to comment on Trump’s solicitation of a Scottish MP for a campaign contribution. From Jen Hayden’s recommended post (since published to the front page) The Trump campaign is likely regretting asking this fierce Scottish MP for an illegal donation.
Top Mojo (June 27, 2016):
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Top Pictures (June 27, 2018):