A Ghost Town of Ghost Towns...Bodie

Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Visitors can walk down the deserted streets of a town that once had around 2,000 structures and a population of roughly 8,000 people.

The town is named for W.S. Body , who had discovered small amounts of gold in hills north of Mono Lake. In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed a rich vein of ore, which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown. In 1881, Bodie's "bust" began and the town's population declined drastically. The town's population continuing to decline until only a few remained. Mining officially ceased in Bodie in 1942, the final nail in the coffin for Bodie's township. Two large fires in 1892 and 1932 reduced the town's remaining structures down to less than 10% of the 2,000 structures that once stood.

Only a small part of the town survives. Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay."
Thank you, Bodie State Historic Park.