Bodie, California - Ghost Towns of the West

It is commonly believed here that if visitors take anything from Bodie, even a tiny pebble, they will be cursed with bad luck. Misfortune and tragedy will plague the victim until the stolen item is returned. Many people have taken and then returned items to Bodie in hopes of removing the curse. In the park museum, you can see the log book that contains letters from people who have returned their plunder to the park. There are numerous pages in the log book showing returned items. It may only be a superstition, buy why take the chance?

Bodie was built following the discovery of gold north of Mono lake in California. While prospectors found gold in the area in 1859, the area wasn't built and settled until around 1877.

The town was named after one of it's discoverers, W. S. Bodey, who died in an unexpected snowstorm. It has been said that his name was mispelled by a sign painter and the current spelling became the accepted one. Other sources say that the townspeople chose to spell it Bodie to make the pronunciation easier to understand.

The new town had explosive growth with the discovery of a huge bonanza of gold. In 1877, the Standard Company produced $784,000 in gold and silver bullion. In 1878 the Syndicate mill produced $601,000 in gold in one month. Overall, during the Bodie gold boom, an estimated $100 million in gold was mined.

People swarmed to Bodie in hopes of finding their fortune. Bodie became one of the wildest and most violent boomtowns in the West, with no lesser reputation than the towns of Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood.

Bodie was home to at least 65 saloons .

By 1879 the population was around 10,000 and Bodie was known to be second to none for wickedness, bad men and "the worst climate out of doors." The phrase "Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie" became well known throughout the West. It was written in the diary of a little girl whose family was taking her to the remote town to live.

Tales of stagecoach robberies, shootouts, streetfights, brawls and general mayhem abound. Killings occurred almost on a daily basis.

The town was flooded with fortune seekers until around 1880. Then the population was somewhere between 7,000 to 8,000 and the main street was over a mile long.

By 1883 the fortune seekers began to leave as the ore bodies were in decline. For the next three decades, only a small number of mines were producing and the population dropped to around 800.

In 1896 The Bodie Company sold out to the Standard and they 'gave up the ghost' in 1913. A few prospectors and miners stayed but in 1932, fire destroyed most of Main Street and the people remaining didn't rebuild but took up residence in the buildings left standing. Bodie was finally abandoned when World War II broke out.

In 1962 Bodie's surviving structures were taken over by the Calfornia Department of Parks and Recreation and the town is currently preserved in a state of 'arrested decay.'

This giant flywheel drove pistons to crush gold ore around the clock in the Bodie mines.

James Cain arrived in Bodie when he was 25. He got involved in the lumber business and put barges on Mono Lake to transport timber to the mines at Bodie. He expanded his business into wagon freight and leased the Bodie railroad and Lumber Company with partner Thomas Holt.

With another partner, Joe Maguire, he leased a parcel of ground from the Standard Mine and Mill. In a period of 90 days they took out $90,000 in gold. Standard refused to renew the lease but Cain eventually acquired the company through the courts and became the tow's principal property owner.

Cain married his wife, Martha, in Carson City, Nevada on September 17, 1879 and they lived in this house.

The house is associated with ghostly legends. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a rather large Chinese maid. Even families of Park Rangers who have occupied the house, describe the spirit as disliking adults but loving children. Adults who have slept in the house say that they have awakened to find the heavy Chinese woman sitting on them! One woman described feeling suffocated, others say that the bedroom door opens and closes on its own.

The Swazey Hotel was also once a clothing store and a casino during the history of Bodie.

The last service in this church was held in 1932. Since that time, vandals have greatly damaged the interior.

Prior to 1882 there were no churches in Bodie. The preachers, Reverend Hinkle and Father Cassin held services in private homes and later in public buildings. A Catholic church was built at the same time as the Methodist church but burned to the ground in 1928.

Henry Metzger of New York, came to Bodie to work in the Standad Mill. He was the foreman when the mill closed in 1916 and was the father of seven children, two of whom, were born in this house.

Tom Miller was employed by the Mono Lake Railway & Lumber Company (former Bodie & Benton Railroad).
The house was constructed from Jeffrey Pine, much of which came from the Mono Mills.

Bodie State Park is open year-round, weather permitting.

It's at an elevation of 9,000 feet so some roads may be closed in the winter.

The park is open 8am - 7pm during the summer and 9am-4pm during the winter.

The Bodie Museum is located in the old Miner's Union Hall building and is open from May through October.

The best access is from Highway 395. Seven miles south of Bridgeport take the Bodie turnoff.