Bodie is probably the best preserved Ghost Town in the West. It is a State Park that preserved a mining town from some of the vandalism and left the buildings appearing close to what they must have looked like in the 1800's. The high desert climate preserved the wood- and the state park designation protected it from treasure hunters to a good extent. Originally, there was a brick town a few miles away on the Nevada side of the border, named Aurora. Now there is nothing there but a little rubble.
The State Park designation put steep fines on removing the artifacts - and we can now appreciate a town that was wild & wooly. For more information on this historical town see http: //www.bodie.net