Ghost Town Bodie
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Bodie, A Typical Gold Rush Ghost Town.
A gold rush is a period of big migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of gold or silver.
Gold rushes took place in the 19th century in the United States but also in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa.
Gold rushes were typically marked by a feeling of a "free for all" in income mobility, in which any single individual might become overnight wealthy.
Within each mining rush there is a typical life cycle:
- The rush is started by a discovery of gold veins made by an individual. Once it is clear that the volume of gold sediment is a large one, the miners will build rockers or sluice boxes, with which a small group can wash gold from the sediment faster than just using gold pans.
Winning the gold in this manner requires almost no capital investment, only a simple pan or equipment that may be built on the spot, and only simple organization - The phase of underground mining:Placer mining may become increasingly large scale, requiring larger organizations, and involvement of higher capital. Small claims owned and mined by individuals may need to be merged.
1) Difficult to reach placer deposits may be mined by tunnels
2) Water may be diverted by dams and canals to placer mine active river beds or to deliver water needed to wash dry placers - Large open-pit mining.Typically a placer gold rush would last only a few years. The free gold supply in stream beds would disappear quickly, and the initial phase would be followed by prospecting for veins of lode gold that were the original source of the placer gold. In some instances the miners abandon the place or the miners start to dig down. Lower-grade may require an advanced technology. As a mining district turns to lower-grade ore, the mining may change from underground mining to large open-pit mining
Close to Bodie, at Dogtown, gold was discovered in 1857, two years later at Monoville another gold discovery. These two events was a whistle bell for prospectors.
In 1859 William Bodey from New York found a vein of gold at the foot of Bodie Bluff. Prospectors and miners started to arrive in this region and within a year an entire mining district was organized.
With a careless misspelling on a sign, in 1862 the district was names Bodie after the original discoverer.
One hundred year later (in1962) Bodie became a State Historic Park, and a lot of work was done to preserve what was left from the powerful mining district after decline.
I like to expose historic facts, as I think they have the potential to contribute to our understanding of life, and events in our times.
The Starting Point
Bodie is located in California, north of Mono Lake, and close to Nevada border.In the picture is a sketch by Ross Browne of the Bodie Bluff.
Short after William Bodey discovery, in 1860 the Bodie mines began to be worked but overshadowed by a great development of the gold mines in nearby Esmeralda Mining District - Aurora in north Nevada.
The campers leaving in Bodie which in 1864 had only 20 wood-frame buildings, were a stubborn, enthusiastic, hard working crowd. They were bound by few of the rules of conventional society, and they played by their own code.
In 1873 a fabulous rich ore chamber was found and a real mining stampede to Bodie got underway.
The main rush on Bodie began with the formation of the Standard Mining Co. in April 1877. This became part of the first mining company incorporated in this district in 1863 (Bodie Bluff Consolidated, owned by L. Stanford and F.T. Bechtel which failed in less than a year).
The growth of the town has no parallel in the history of mining.
In July 1879 Body had
- A population of 8,000 people for the camp
- Two banking houses
- Five wholesale stores
- Surprisingly 47 saloons, and 10 faro tables
- Fine houses, business houses was added
- A very good daily Newspaper
The Body Reputation And New Developments
Bodie's reputation as a tough town made the sensation of the local Newspaper.The shootings at the gambling tables shortly became the bread and water of all newspapers in the country.
In some instances the Bodie's citizens took matters into their own hands to execute a cold blood murder but soon Bodie settled down and became a prosperous normal town.
On January 1878, a miners' union was formed, the first such union organized in CA.
It was originally created to improve working conditions and introduce uniform wages. Soon the union constructed a large hall which became the center of social activities various meetings, dances, lectures.
Other businesses prospered during the boom, a huge general merchandise store the Intermountain West was opened in 1877 ( this alone had freight bill nearly $100,000)
Bodie had a Chinese population around 350 in 1880 They worked as woodcutters, operated laundries and opium dens.
The first first-class hotel was built "The Grand Central".
The Revrend began holding services in the Miners' Union Hall in 1878.A Methodist Church was completed in 1882.
A Roman Catholic "St. John the Baptist" was completed in 1882 ( this Church was burned in a mysterious fire in 1928.)
A public school opened in 1878 and started with 10 students.
This is the school:
Everyone participated in celebrating major holidays, especially the 4th of July and Christmas when the town was decorated with young tree which were cut in the mountains and brought into the town
The Bodie had a Brass Band, and a baseball team as well.
The Decline Of Bodie
In 1881 the Bodie's boom began to fade. The population reduced at 3,000, several mines closed down and at the end of 1887 only 1,555 people remained in town.
Body will remain in history as a town with incredible ups and downs.
In 1892 Bodie became the site of the nation's first electrical power transmission for industrial purposes. Prior to 1892, electricity had only been used when it was generated.
The Standard Co. built a 12 mile power line from Green Creek straight to its mill.
The success of this venture revolutionized the use of electricity in industry, but Bodie enjoyed electric power after 18 years.
In 1899 the wood-frame Standard mill burned and was immediately rebuild.
Bodie's mines continued to operate for another decade, but after 1910 the smaller mines began to close permanently.
In1921 only 30 people remained in town, many buildings were being demolished by local ranchers for their lumber.
In 1932 Bodie was ravaged by fire started by a kid playing with matches. The dry wood-frame buildings was so vulnerable, the town was never rebuild.
Some very limited mining continued at Bodie until the Standard Co.' was forever crippled by a fire in 1947.
In 1962 the town became a California State Historic Park.
Our Visit To Bodie
It is a little town with wood frame houses, surrounded by beautiful hills, and even now when tourism is booming, and what is left is well maintain and preserve, the filling of being a Ghost Town hunts you, impresses you, and remains in your memory forever.
It was a warm windy summer day. Bodie is at elevation of 8400 feet, it has warm summers and cold and windy winters with heavy snowfalls. You can visit Bodie only in summer.
This is me in the porch of a house:
In the next one is John crossing the street, what is left from the Main Street:
It is incredible how well those houses are maintained:
Around the central part of the town, you can see all kind of relics of the past.
Video Bodie Ghost Town
Video Bodie Details
Google Ghost Towns Blog Posts
- Spain Ghost Towns Develop From Real Estate Crash (PHOTOS)
- Such modern-day ghost towns have become a familiar part of the Spanish landscape, abandoned shells left to slowly decay. The number of foreclosure proceedings skyrocketed during the economic crisis. Nearly 530000 were granted by courts from 2008 ...
- Ghost Town's sole bidder hopes to bring back the amusement park for her community
- Competing buyers can file an upset bid for 10 days. Presley is now counting down the days until Feb. 20 to see if anyone places a counterbid. Presley, 88, hopes to leave a functioning and profitable Ghost Town as her legacy to Maggie Valley.
- Fukushima Ghost Towns
- The resulting images, all shot on film, are sad, lonely, and depressing?they depict ghost towns. Besides empty streets, photos show gyms that were used as refuges until they were evacuated for being too close to the Fukushima nuclear reactors.
- Ghost towns of Fukushima
- About 2400 square kilometres of land, an area the size of Luxembourg, will need to be decontaminated before residents can return to live. 14/02/12 Up next... Banks fuel auction uncertainty with rising interest rates Sorry.
States With Gold Rush History
Did You Visit Any Gold Rush Ghost Town?
Note: The picture is from St. Elmo Colorado. It is in very good condition, as all Bodie's wood houses. This really is a miracle!
Ghost Towns in the Mountain West
Other lenses about gold rush
Did You Enjoy The Bodie Story?
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Coe
Nov 3, 2011 @ 8:50 pm | delete
- Wonderful lens about the fascinating subject of ghost towns and Bodie in particular.
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JoyfulPamela
Jun 18, 2011 @ 6:24 pm | delete
- What an interesting place to visit! I loved watching the video pictures and reading about the town. Thank you for adding my pioneer lens here. I'm definitely adding this to it because I think students will enjoy learning about and seeing this cool ghost town. : )
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Michey
Jun 18, 2011 @ 7:54 pm | delete
- You are welcome. Thanks
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Momtothezoo
Jun 15, 2011 @ 9:59 am | delete
- You and John visited so many interesting places! This is great!
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Michey
Jun 15, 2011 @ 12:31 pm | delete
- Yes we travel a lot and I miss out vacations, his humor, and his interest in traveling.
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Ramkitten
May 3, 2011 @ 10:48 pm | delete
- I love ghost towns, especially when I know the history behind them. I've been through a couple here in Arizona.
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LikinTrikin
Mar 13, 2011 @ 2:59 pm | delete
- Great lens, I've never been to Bodie. Will definitely add it to my to do list. I lensrolled this to my Oatman Arizona lens. Hope thats ok
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Michey
Mar 13, 2011 @ 6:25 pm | delete
- Yes it is OK! Thsnks for stopping by
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sukkran
Feb 28, 2011 @ 8:21 am | delete
- very interesting read. well presented lens. ~blessed by a squid angel~
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Michey
Feb 28, 2011 @ 8:44 am | delete
- Thanks, it was a very interesting experience for me as well. Until our trip at Body, Ghost-Towns, Rush Gold... were just knowledge from reading, but to see a ghost town this created a new prospective for me.
Regards
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