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Video of Colin Rich about Ghost Town Bodie.
http://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/52370423

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Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by prospector W. S. Bodey (also spelled Body). That November, Bodey perished in a blizzard after making a supply trip to nearby Monoville.

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. Rich discoveries in the adjacent Bodie Mine during 1878 attracted even more hopeful people. By 1880, Bodie had a population of 7,000, maybe 8,000. Over the years, Bodie's mines produced gold valued at more than $34 million.

As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including two banks, a brass band, railroad, miner's and mechanic's unions, several newspapers, and a jail. At its peak 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences. Legend has it that a little girl, upon learning that her family was moving there, prayed one night, "Goodbye God, we are going to Bodie." But a local editor claimed she had really prayed, "Good! By God, we are going to Bodie."

Gold bullion from the town's nine stamp mills was shipped to Carson City, Nevada by way of Aurora, Wellington and Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by an armed guard. Once the bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint or sent by rail to the mint in San Francisco.
Bodie had a Chinatown, with several hundred Chinese residents at one point, and included a Taoist temple.

Bodie has a cemetery on the outskirts of town and a nearby mortuary, which is the only building in the town built of red brick three courses thick, most likely for insulation to keep the air temperature steady (cold winters, hot summers).

On Main Street stands the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions and an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum. The State Park's ranger station is located in one of the original homes on Green Street.

The Irish rockband U2 held a photoshoot in Bodie for their 1987 album The Joshua Tree.

Though greatly reduced in prominence, Bodie held a permanent residency through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932. Bodie 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.

Today, Bodie 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 had a population of nearly 10,000 people. Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Bodie is open all year, but the long road that leads to it is usually closed in the winter due to heavy snowfall, so the most comfortable time to visit is during the summer months.



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