Bodie — a Gold Rush town to visit
As we travel throughout our gold country we often wonder what the towns looked like in their “heyday.”
A few buildings usually are preserved, but to be in that town at that time in history isn’t possible. However, Bodie, in the eastern hills of Mono County, does exemplify that past through a preservation effort that kept out souvenir seekers.
My travel to Bodie in late July was my fourth visit — and the most thorough I’ve taken. My travel companion had heard much about Bodie because of my book about Louise Arner Boyd. Her father John Boyd and uncles Dan and Seth Cook were partners with William Lent in the Standard Mine (the main mine) buying it for $67,500 in 1877 and selling it for millions in 1882. I expected to hear about these men, so I was disappointed that park tour guides had never heard of them.
Since my last visit the state park system has upgraded its entrance procedures, including an excellent Bodie Guidebook for $2. It details almost every building on the site as well as a map of the town. Gold still was mined into the 1940s, although in smaller quantities. The population had dropped from 8,000 people in boom times to a few hundred. When World War II occurred, keeping the mines open and at that far distance was not practical.
Fortunately, the mining company decided to keep a watchman on site to protect the site. This continued after the war which meant souvenir hunters weren’t allowed into the area. Consequently, the town remains as it was when the population left — including a pool table in one restaurant and school books in the school — all untouched.
The guidebook map starts at the parking lot. Throughout the entire walk it describes the inhabitants of 21 houses. Some of these houses now are used as residences for the summer help. Some have been restored with furniture while others have original contents, or what was left when the occupants departed. The elaborate enclosed walkways that went from the house to the outhouse are fascinating. Winter is harsh at 9,000 feet and obviously no one wanted to go into the elements in the middle of the night.
The Methodist Church, built in 1882, is the only church still standing. The red barn across the street is typical of the large barns once used throughout the town. South of the barn is the Saddle Room which was part of a large stable complex.
Walking down the street you come upon a morgue caskets still inside. Turn the corner and you are in the center of downtown. The Miners’ Union Hall is a museum and park information center. Next door is the I. O.O. F. Hall and DeChambeau Hotel. In 1879 the post office first occupied this hotel building with Grandma Johnson’s rooming house upstairs. Later it became the hotel, then in the final years a bar and cafe.
Another hotel, the Swasey (Swazey), also is along this stretch. A plaque further down explains that area was a murder site. A miner was shot and killed near there with the murderer then captured. A vigilante committee took the murderer from his jail cell and hung him — aah, justice in the Old West!
The Booine Store and Warehouse, built in 1879, still has merchandise displays and a well supplied warehouse. Along this stretch is Sam Leon’s Bar, Joe Hahner Barber Shop, and the firehouse. The main store in town was Wheaton and Luhrs which later was called Bodie Store.
In the hydroelectric building is equipment from the 1930s. The town originally received electricity in 1910. The school house is the second one built because the first one was burned down by a “juvenile delinquent.” Its highest enrollment was 615.
Gracing the hill behind the town is the Standard Mill. On this property is the superintendent’s house, the town’s largest residence. One superintendent was Theodore Hoover, brother of the president.
Not all buildings survived so there are sites explaining where hotels were as well as the Chinese section of town. The Masonic Hall site, established in 1878, had a peak membership of 93 in 1882. Other sites are the Bodie Bank (safe still visible), a huge warehouse, and the jail.
If you haven’t been to Bodie it is worth the trip. It’s open usually from May (if snow has left) to October (it’s cold then because I once went at that time). Bodie is 14 miles from Highway 395 with unpaved road the last three miles. You’ll want to plan several hours (we spent five) not only to see it but to gain the feeling of life in a gold rush town. And take your lunch. There are no commercial facilities — you’re back in the late 1800s.