Bodie commanded little attention from gold miners during the mid-1850s. While other mountainous areas that promised gold were flocked by thousands of prospectors, Bodie had almost no takers or believers. The harsh weather and isolated mountains didn’t attract many settlers.
The fortune of the small mining district changed when Bill Bodey decided to try his luck. The remoteness, icy winters, and the fear of failure – nothing deterred the pioneer miner. Bodey discovered gold high in the peaks, located east of the future Bodie town. In July 1859, he had a placer claim in that location. A few months later, Bodey caught up in a snowstorm and froze to death.
The Birth of a Town
A few years later, the new mining town was named after the pioneer miner. It’s believed an error in spelling by a painter in Aurora led to the change in the name of the town. The name stuck and was never corrected.
Other miners started to trickle in. In 1860, gold and silver quartz deposits were discovered in Bodie. In June 1861, the Bodie Mining District was established and within months the first stamp mill was put up. Initially, the mining town had only 20 miners. They also found plenty of placer deposits, but they were discouraged by lack of water.
It took some time for mining to pick up in Bodie. In 1861, the Mono County was formed and Aurora was named as the county seat. After a survey placed Aurora on the wrong side of the state border – the town of Aurora was in Nevada – a new county seat had to be chosen. Once again Bodie was overlooked and Bridgeport became the county seat. Bridgeport housed teamsters who transported lumber to Bodie, Aurora, and other sites.
The Boom and the Bust
Bodie began to prosper in the early 1860s. A letter to a newspaper in San Francisco stated that the highest quality and quantity of ore was extracted from the mining town. As the news of rich gold deposits traveled, the residents were told that New Yorkers were coming to Bodie with more than half-a-million dollars to invest. The New Yorkers established the Empire Mining Company. Due to mismanagement and financial irregularities, in 1868, the company declared bankruptcy. This wasn’t the only bad news for Bodie.
The decade started with so much promise for the town. Several companies started mining operations in Bodie. But, by the end of the decade, Bodie’s fortune took a turn for the worse. The difficult terrain, harsh weather, and lack of large gold deposits took its toll on the town. Companies closed and mines were abandoned.
Although the big companies left, Bodie was still home to artisanal miners and prospectors. For the next few years, no big gold deposits were found. The small finds, here and there, were enough to keep the prospectors interested. New shafts and tunnels were dug. The locals made their living by extracting placer gold.
The Phoenix-Like Rise of Bodie
The new decade brought new hope and prosperity to the town. It was by sheer luck that miners found rich deposits of gold. In 1875, one of the mines – Bunker Hill – caved in. What must have been a tragedy became the lucky day for the town. The news of the new gold deposit spread fast and attracted a large number of gold prospectors.
Again huge investments poured into Bodie. A new company was formed and large scale mining operations commenced again. The new gold mining company – Standard Company – produced nearly $800,000 in gold and silver bullion in 1877.
The allure of gold attracted settlers and businessmen from far and wide. Rich investors from New York and San Francisco were ready to pump in huge sums of money expecting to find more gold underground.
Within a year, the population of the town increased to 8000 residents. New and expensive machines were brought in for extracting ore. The booming town attracted its share of robbers and highwaymen. Gambling, betting, and horse racing began to take root in Bodie and soon violence and lawlessness increased in the town.
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How Bodie Became a Ghost Town
It didn’t take long for the situation to decline in Bodie. Gold mining slumped again, but more money was needed just for the upkeep of the expensive mining machinery. With the major source of employment gone, many residents moved to nearby towns in search of work. In 1881, the town looked deserted with just 800 residents.
Only a handful of companies still operated in Bodie. They made enough money to keep its small workforce from leaving town. After three decades of dwindling fortunes, the Standard Company, which was the biggest mining company in Bodie, shut its doors in 1913.
A few struggling mines continued operations and some miners tried to revive mining using new technology. But no amount of effort, investment, or technology of the 1900s could revive the town’s economy. The start of World War II came as the final death blow to Bodie. The tiny population left Bodie with bare essentials, leaving behind furniture and other belongings they couldn’t carry.
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