An original ghost town from the late 1800’s. Bodie Ghost Town stands today in a state of “arrested decay”. So coined by the State of California when they took over the town in 1962 to make it a State Historic Park. In 1859 William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Ghost Town Bluff. A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners and grew to an estimated 10,000 people by 1880! By that time, the town of Bodie Ghost Town bustled with families, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters and prostitutes of all kinds. At one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Amongst the saloons were numerous brothels and ‘houses of ill repute’, gambling halls and opium dens. Needless to say that there was entertainment for every taste.After a long day working the claims, the miners would head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would often prove fatal. It is said that there was a man killed every day in Bodie Ghost Town. Presumably, the undertaker never had a slow day.
Discovery of gold
Bodie Ghost Town began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W.S. Bodey (first name uncertain). Bodey perished in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present day Mono City, California), never getting to see the rise of the town that was named after him.According to area pioneer, Judge J.G. McClinton, the district’s name was changed from “Bodey,” “Body,” and a few other phonetic variations, to “Bodie,” after a painter in the nearby boomtown of Aurora, lettered a sign “Bodie Stables”[8][9] Gold discovered at Bodie Ghost Town 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.
Mining town
The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious towards the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie Ghost Town. The get-rich quick, single miners who originally came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, which eventually turned Bodie Ghost Town into a family-oriented community. Two examples of this settling were the construction of the Methodist Church (which currently stands) and the Roman Catholic Church (burned about 1930) that were both constructed in 1882. Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881 Bodie’s ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. 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 Ghost Town enjoyed a short revival seen in 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 1893, the Standard Company built its own hydroelectric plant, located approximately 12.5 miles (20.1 km) away on Green Creek, above Bridgeport, California. The plant developed a maximum of 130horsepower (97 kW) and 6,600 volts alternating current (AC) to power the company’s 20-stamp mill. This pioneering installation is marked as one of the country’s first transmissions of electricity over a long distance.In 1910, the population was recorded at 698 people, which were predominantly families that decided to stay in Bodie instead of moving on to other prosperous strikes. It will not be an exaggeration to say that Bodie Ghost Town is a Beautiful Place For Vacations.
Ghost town and park
In the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. The Cain family, who owned much of the land the town is situated upon, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town’s structures.Martin Gianettoni, one of the last three people in Bodie Ghost Town in 1943, was also a caretaker.
Bodie Ghost Town is now an authentic Wild West ghost town. The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and in 1962 it became Bodie State Historic Park. A total of 170 buildings remained. Bodie has been named California’s official state gold rush ghost town.Today, Bodie Ghost Town is preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survives. 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. Bodie is open all year, but the long road that leads to the town is usually closed in the winter due to heavy snowfall, so the majority of visitors to the park come during the summer months.The California State Parks’ ranger station is located in one of the original homes on Green Street.
In 2009 and again in 2010, Bodie Ghost Town was scheduled to be closed, but the California state legislature was able to work out a budget compromise that enabled the state’s Parks Closure Commission to allow it to remain open, at least during the 2009–2010 fiscal year. The park is still operating as of December 2011.
Climate
Summers in Bodie Ghost Town are hot, and in winter, temperatures often plummet well below 0 °F (−18 °C), and winds can sweep across the valley at close to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Nights remain cold even through the summer, often dropping well below freezing. The harsh weather is due to a particular combination of high altitude (8,400 feet (2,600 m)) and a very exposed plateau, with little in the way of a natural surrounding wall to protect the long, flat piece of land from the elements. Plenty of firewood was needed to keep residents warm through the long winters. Bodie Ghost Town is not located in a forest, so lumber had to be imported fromBridgeport, California; Benton, California; Carson City, Nevada and Mono Mills, California. The winter of 1878–1879 was particularly harsh and claimed the lives of many residents.National Weather Service records show that average January temperatures in Bodie are a maximum of 39.0°F and a minimum of 5.6°F. Average July temperatures are a maximum of 76.8°F and a minimum of 35.1°F. Only three months — June, July and August — have mean monthly temperatures above 50°F. There are an average of 0.1 days with highs of 90°F (32°C) or higher and an average of 303 days with lows of 32°F (0°C) or lower USA tour & travels. The record high temperature of 91°F was on July 21, 1988. The record low temperature of −36°F was recorded on February 13, 1903.
Average annual precipitation is 12.80 inches, with September, the driest month, averaging 0.5 inches while January, the wettest month, receives 2.0 inches on average. As a result, Bodie Ghost Town has the rare Dsc designation in the Köppen climate classificationscheme. There are an average of 55 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1965 with 26.04 inches and the driest year was 2000 with 4.57 inches. The most precipitation in one month was 7.39 inches in January 1901. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 4.57 inches on February 12, 1895. Average annual snowfall is 97.4 inches. The snowiest year was 1965 with 269.0 inches. The most snow in one month was 97.1 inches in January 1969