Bodie, California
A Great California Ghost Town
At one time in California history, Bodie was the second largest
town in the state. It was known for it's lawlessness. The bluff in
Bodie produced a tremendous amount of gold, but few actually got rich.
The main street, during Bodie's heyday was over a mile long and had
dozens of saloons. Today, it is a state historic park that is kept in
"arrested decay". It is quite a place to visit.
The
Bodie Standard Mill was built late in the town's days and still stands
today. It was a 20 stamp mill that ran 24 hours a day, crushing rock to
extract the gold. It was said that the stamp mill had to be stopped at
least once a day to clean the gold out of the stampers!
Some
of the equipment used for the mines. The giant flywheel was actually
placed on the other side of town originally. Below are a couple of the
elevators that would take the miners to their work below the surface.
Part of town as you look from the current parking lot. The road that
continues on to the bluff is Green Street. Notice the 2 story building
to the right of the middle of the picture. That was the school house.
A part of the inside of Boone's General Store on Main Street. Items
still stocked on the shelves as if ready to open for business again.
Two of the many wagons that are throughout the town.
And this wagon used by the fire department. Fire was a very dangerous
thing in a town whose buildings were almost all wood. Fire has claimed
large sections of the town over the years.
One of the advertising signs outside of Boone's General Store
One of a few cars left abandoned in the town when it finally closed for
good in the 1930s.
