On our way up to Tahoe, James and I made a detour to visit
Bodie, CA, a ghost town literally frozen in time. The state of California maintains the buildings in a state of "arrested decay" - meaning everything is exactly as it was when the last occupant vacated the town in the 1940's after decades of decline. Bodie was established in 1861 and after the discovery of a large deposit gold-bearing ore in 1876, the town had transformed into a Wild West boomtown of over 10,000 residents. At its peak, Bodie had over 65 saloons along its mile long Main Street. A "lawless" town of miners, Bodie experienced ballroom brawls, shootouts and murders on a daily basis. After many years of profit, the town started to experience decline in the 1880's as gold towns were discovered in other states. By 1910, only 700 people remained. A devastating fire tore through the town in 1932 and the last resident left the town in 1943. The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and a California State Historic Park in 1962. There are about 100 buildings remaining in Bodie. James and I were able to walk through what's left of the town including a church, school, general store, saloon, fire house, mortuary and many residential houses. Most of the buildings still had personal possessions in them. It was really, really interesting and also a little bit creepy. It also reminded me a little of the mining town we visited on our
Vegas trip a few months ago.
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| The only residents left in the town of Bodie. |
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| James thinks this would have been our house if we lived in Bodie. What do you think? |
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| Payroll books for the Standard Mine - 1879. |
Stay tuned for our last installment of our Summer Vaca Chronicles - On to Tahoe!
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