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 Bodie State Historic Park - California
N 38° 12.497 W 119° 00.876
11S E 323616 N 4230842
California's largest Ghost Town
Waymark Code: WM1MAK
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2007
Views: 129
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Goodbye, God, I'm going to Bodie.
That note is attributed to a little girl whose family moved from San Francisco to Bodie. In 1880, in the wake of the California Gold Rush, Body was a thriving town with 10,000 inhabitants, robbers, miners, store owners, gunfighters and prostitutes of all kinds. At its peak, it was reported to have 65 saloons, brothels and 'houses of ill repute', gambling halls and opium dens.
But all that glory didn't last very long. On July 25, 1892, a big fire wiped out all but a few buildings of the town’s business district. That fire ended Bodie’s history as a big city. Then, on June, 23, 1932, a small boy playing with matches started another fire, finally sealing the fate of the town. Some people remained in town until the 1940s, but little by little, Bodie turned into one of the many California Gold Rush ghost towns until the State took over in 1962 and turned the town into a State Historic Park. Today, Bodie stands " in a state of "arrested decay" and it is definitely worth the travel on five miles of dirt road off hwy 395 to visit California's largest and best preserved ghost town.
We'd like to invite you to a shourt tour through the center of Bodie. All pictures on this site are our own, but the descriptions are are partially taken from uniopc.org, a website with great pictures of the park.
For a map of the area, check out the State Park Website; for larger pictures, click on the images. |
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Probably the most remarkable building in Bodie is the Methodist Church, erected in 1882. It held worship services until 1932. With all the wicked notoriety of the town, it is important to note that many hard working and regular people and families lived in Bodie too. |
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Next to the church is the Miller House. All the furniture and household items still found in Bodie are original to the town. Looking through windows and doors, one may see beds, caskets, desks, bottles, cans, and other items of daily life. Most are now coated with a thick layer of dust.
In the Miller House, one can actually walk through the rooms, rather than just peek through the window, although for obvious reasons, the furnished areas are off limit. |
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The corner of Main and Green streets is the center of Bodie and right there is the Boone Store, a general store, built in 1879 by a direct descendent of Daniel Boone.
Also close to the center, on Green Street was Bodies only Gas Station. |
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Located on Green Street is Sam Leon's Bar, one of the 65 hangouts of various kind in town. A peek through the window allows a travel back in time. |
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| With all the "Places of Ill Reputation" around, it was hard to deliver some decent education. Consequently, Bodie’s first school house didn’t last long until it was burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent. The second School House, built in 1879 and located at the end of Green Street was originally a lodging house. It was in use until the end of Bodie’s days. One of the unique items one can spot through the window is a 150 years old globe. |
| Twice in its history, Bodie was on fire, and both times, the fire station didn’t live up to the challenge, making the Bodie Fire Station probably the worst in all of California. On July 25, 1892, a big fire wiped out all but a few buildings of the town’s business district. That fire ended Bodie’s history as a big city. Then, on June, 23, 1932, a small boy playing with matches started another fire, finally sealing the fate of the town. Each time, there was plenty of water available, and the fires could have been stopped, but the screens at the reservoirs had not been replaced after cleaning and the pipes were clogged with rocks and mud. |
| Two of the buildings that survived the fire are located right next to the fire station at the corner of Main and Green Streets; the Wheaton & Hollis Hotel and our favorite building in all of Bodie: the Zwazey Hotel.
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| This is where it all started: at the Bodie Mine (left).
And then, this is where it all ended: at the Morgue (right). Make sure you also visit Bodie's cemetery. |
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Let us end our little tour with two important notes:
1. The restrooms in Bodie are as old as the town (see picture) - just kidding.
2. The whole park consists of a ton of 150 years old, dry wood, so smoking is very, very strictly prohibited in the entire area. (No kidding!) |
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Park Type: Day Use
Activities:
Historic Walk
Date Established?: 1962
Link to Park: [Web Link]
Park Fees: Not listed
Background: Not listed
Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
To log a visit to a waymark in this category, please include the following ...
1. A picture you took at the park.
2. Your favorite activity at the park.
3. How do you like the park.
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