Bodie became a boom town in 1876 after discovery of profitable line of gold by 1879 it had a population of 10,000
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Gps Coordinates / 38.212750,-119.012042
Gold Mining Ghost Town Bodie State-Historic VR Park Paranormal Locations
CA-270, Bridgeport, CA 93517, United States
Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States.
Reported In 1880, Bodie was California's second or third largest city, while U.S. Census disagrees
Link Location Gps -119.0143473
Gps Coordinates / 38.2132805,-119.0143473
Due to the violence that was typical of these types of mining towns, the majority of deaths were not from natural causes. Many of the people who rest here perished from violent acts, sickness, mining accidents, and more. Witnesses apparition is a little girl named Evelyn. It's believed that Evelyn died when she was accidentally struck in the head with a pick-axe. People have also reported seeing a woman in a white dress sitting by her loved one's grave.
Cemetery is the final resting place for approximately 80 souls.
Wild West graveyards many claim are haunted by ancient spirits
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.017181 / Gps Link -119.017622 / Gps Link -119.017492
Gps Coordinates / 38.210133,-119.017181 / 38.209272,-119.017622 / 38.209953,-119.017492
Over the decades, "the curse of Bodie" has been the subject of rumor, ghost-hunter lore and online chatter, and it promises bad luck, health problems and even mysterious accidents.
In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0133394 / Gps Link -119.013443 / Gps Link -119.013566
Gps Coordinates / 38.2129114,-119.0133394 / 38.2128143,-119.013443 / 38.212301,-119.013566
The town went into decline in the subsequent decades and came to be described as a ghost town by 1915. The U.S. Department of the Interior recognizes the designated Bodie Historic District as a National Historic Landmark.
The Methodist Church
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0136975 / Gps Link -119.0140335 / Gps Link -119.0143509
Gps Coordinates / 38.212083,-119.0136975 / 38.2121569,-119.0140335 / 38.2123337,-119.0143509
Also registered as a California Historical Landmark, the ghost town officially was established as Bodie State Historic Park in 1962. It receives about 200,000 visitors yearly. Bodie State Historic Park is partly supported by the Bodie Foundation.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0152802 / Gps Link -119.0153142 / Gps Link -119.0146789
Gps Coordinates / 38.2121083,-119.0152802 / 38.211641,-119.0153142 / 38.2111671,-119.0146789
Bodie began as a mining camp of little note following the discovery of gold in 1859 by a group of prospectors, including W. S. Bodey. Bodey died in a blizzard the following November while making a supply trip to Monoville (near present-day Mono City), never getting to see the rise of the town that was named after him.
District's name was changed from "Bodey," "Body," and a few other phonetic variations
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0080587 / Gps Link -119.0088687 / Gps Link -119.0097758
Gps Coordinates / 38.2097631,-119.0080587 / 38.2100707,-119.0088687 / 38.2117724,-119.0097758
Over the years 1860-1941 Bodie's mines produced gold and silver valued at an estimated US$34 million (in 1986 dollars, or $85 million in 2021).
Standard Consolidated Mining Company Stamp Mill
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0099821 / Gps Link -119.0102723 / Gps Link -119.0106867
Gps Coordinates / 38.2118384,-119.0099821 / 38.2120072,-119.0102723 / 38.2123109,-119.0106867
Bodie boomed from late 1877 through mid– to late 1880. The first newspaper, The Standard Pioneer Journal of Mono County, published its first edition on October 10, 1877. Starting as a weekly, it soon expanded publication to three times a week. It was also during this time that a telegraph line was built which connected Bodie with Bridgeport and Genoa, Nevada.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0110997 / Gps Link -119.0117841 / Gps Link -119.0117409
Gps Coordinates / 38.2125441,-119.0110997 / 38.2133215,-119.0117841 / 38.2144506,-119.0117409
California and Nevada newspapers predicted Bodie would become the next Comstock Lode. Men from both states were lured to Bodie by the prospect of another bonanza.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.011575 / Gps Link -119.0125306 / Gps Link -119.01295
Gps Coordinates / 38.2138827,-119.011575 / 38.2113381,-119.0125306 / 38.2111833,-119.01295
In the 1940s, the threat of vandalism faced the ghost town. The Cain family, who owned much of the land, hired caretakers to protect and to maintain the town's structures.
Bodie has many abandoned artifacts, such as this 1937 Chevrolet coupe.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0129235 / Gps Link -119.0131454 / Gps Link -119.011537
Gps Coordinates / 38.2113244,-119.0129235 / 38.2115021,-119.0131454 / 38.2105927,-119.011537
The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and in 1962 the state legislature authorized creation of Bodie State Historic Park. A total of 170 buildings remained. Bodie has been named as California's official state gold rush ghost town.
Martin Gianettoni, one of the last three people living in Bodie in 1943, was a caretaker.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0116148 / Gps Link -119.0117419 / Gps Link -119.0118577
Gps Coordinates / 38.2111565,-119.0116148 / 38.2111983,-119.0117419 / 38.2113247,-119.0118577
As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners' and mechanics' union, several daily 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.
Served as an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0123474 / Gps Link -119.0123751 / Gps Link -119.0125425
Gps Coordinates / 38.2115228,-119.0123474 / 38.2115813,-119.0123751 / 38.2116667,-119.0125425
As with other remote mining towns, Bodie had a popular, though clandestine, red light district on the north end of town. There is an unsubstantiated story of Rosa May, a prostitute who, in the style of Florence Nightingale, came to the aid of the town menfolk when a serious epidemic struck the town at the height of its boom. She is credited with giving life-saving care to many, but after she died, was buried outside the cemetery fence.
Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.
65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.0126682 / Gps Link -119.0125591 / Gps Link -119.0124914
Gps Coordinates / 38.2117162,-119.0126682 / 38.2117981,-119.0125591 / 38.2120147,-119.0124914
Bodie had a Chinatown, the main street of which ran at a right angle to Bodie's Main Street. At one point it had several hundred Chinese residents and a Taoist temple. Opium dens were plentiful in this area.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link -119.012276 / Gps Link -119.0120868 / Gps Link -119.0122671 / Gps Link -119.0148564
Gps Coordinates / 38.212036,-119.012276 / 38.2120525,-119.0120868 / 38.2123139,-119.0122671 / 38.213448,-119.0148564
On Main Street stands the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions. It also served as an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum.
Bodie is now an authentic Wild West ghost town.
Gps Coordinates / 38.2135373,-119.0145357
Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only a small part of the town survived, with about 110 structures still standing, including one of many once operational gold mills. 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. Littered throughout the park, one can find small shards of china dishes, square nails and an occasional bottle, but removing these items is against the rules of the park.
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