Bodie: The ultimate western ghost town

During a long-ago summer of wandering the Western U.S. in a woefully underpowered 1971 VW bus, we were camped in Yosemite Valley when learning of an exceptional ghost town on the eastern flank of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Departing Yosemite the following morning we drove east across the Sierra Nevada on the park’s scenic Tioga Road to connect with U.S. Highway 395 (U.S. 395 runs from California’s Mojave Desert to the Canadian border and offers an excellent road trip though some beautiful country).

Driving north past the western edge of Mono Lake, we turned east on Highway 270. Thirteen miles down the road was Bodie, a ghost town near the Nevada border that proved more remarkable than we could have imagined.

The old mining town is a true historic gem. Although a majority of the aged wooden structures have been lost to fire and the severe climate, over 100 buildings have been stabilized and remain including numerous houses, a jail, hotels, barns, a firehouse, a sawmill, a church and a school with student books and papers still at rest on dusty chair desks. Unlike some better-known historic mining towns like Tombstone, Central City, Deadwood and Virginia City, Bodie has no commercial operations or current residents other than a couple of caretakers. It is an authentic western ghost town.

Bodie would spring to life following the 1859 discovery of gold by prospectors W.S. Bodey and E.S. Taylor. Unfortunately for Mr. Bodey, the town would be named for him after the poor fellow froze to death in a snowstorm shortly after his discovery. Winters were and remain brutal here and life in the 1800s could be short in this part of the country. Things remained relatively tranquil until 1876 when a mining company discovered major deposits of gold and silver. Within three years Bodie had grown to become one of the largest towns in the West with nearly 8,000 residents and over 2,000 structures. It could boast of a Main Street over a mile long, plus a Chinatown populated with contract laborers who had their own gambling halls, stores, and saloons. Not surprisingly in such a rough and tumble environment, Bodie earned a reputation as one of the most violent towns in the West with routine shootings and hangings. According to legend, a young girl wrote in her diary, “Goodbye, God. I’m going to Bodie.”

Like many western towns built on an economic base of minerals, Bodie began losing population when the deposits withered and mineral prices declined, causing mining operations to become less profitable. New technology and variations in mineral prices were accompanied by periodic booms and busts, but eventually a couple of fires and a suspension of mining operations in 1942 by the War Production Board spelled the end of the line for Bodie.

The once-prosperous mining town of the late 1880s became a state historic park in 1962 and is being preserved in what park officials term “arrested decay.” State employees and volunteers carry out only tasks necessary to maintain the structures as is. For example, roof repairs are undertaken to prevent water damage, but roofs are not replaced for appearance sake. Although significantly depleted from its prime by major fires, the town remains as it was when the last residents departed and that’s enough to make Bodie an excellent destination for travelers with an interest in western history.

Bodie State Historic Park is open year-round, with summer hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The park closes at 4 p.m. the rest of the year. A museum/visitor center is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. mid-May through mid-October. The final three miles to reach the park are quite rough. From Bodie, a 12-mile unimproved road requiring a 4-wheel drive, high-clearance vehicle leads to the sister ghost town of Aurora, a short distance across the Nevada border. Aurora grew to a population of nearly 10,000 that included Mark Twain, but was mostly abandoned by 1870. Most of Aurora’s buildings have been knocked down although the town’s historic cemetery is intact and some building foundations remain visible.

The state historic park, at an elevation of 8,400 feet, offers the possibility of snow from September to June. During our first visit to Bodie we spent a June night with a bunch of cows in the state historic park’s unimproved campground. After dinner we picked some flowering weeds and placed them in a cup of water on the picnic table. By morning the cup of water was frozen solid and we weren’t far behind. Camping is no longer permitted in the park.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Exploring the Oregon Trail” (Globe Pequot). They live in Valdosta, Georgia. Visit them at blog.valdosta.edu/dlscott.