GET-YUR-MOTOR RUNNIN' ROAD TRIP
Astoria - Santa Fe - Death Valley - Astoria
Day Trip to Bodie, CA
November 23, 2013 (Day 40 of 44)
November 23, 2013 (Day 40 of 44)
Miles Today: 62 / Trip Miles: 4,194
Click on Map For Larger Map
Route:
US-395 north from Lee Vining (6,800 ft elevation) to the ghost town of Bodie, California (8,400 ft elevation). Thirty-three degrees and cloudy at 10:30 am. CA-270 from US-395 is a steep twisting road with some 8-percent grades. The road winds through small, narrow canyons with occasional flat areas. The countryside is high desert brush land, with a few trees and meadows. Most of the snow from the recent snow fall has disappeared.
Great vistas of snow-capped Sierras. For some reason, the pavement ends after about ten miles and the road becomes gravel for three miles—with large, imbedded rocks, washboards and ruts. Very slow going in my Subaru STI with its low clearance. This road closes in winter because of hazardous road conditions. Bodie is open all year—the only way to reach it during the winter is with skis, snowshoes, or snowmobiles.
Bodie:
Bodie is a ghost town. It looks much the same as it did when the last residents left over fifty years ago. Today's temperature was in high 20s F. Winter weather here is often unpredictable—sub-zero temperatures, strong winds and white-out conditions are common. This time of year is perfect to avoid people, dust and heat. Except for a few other visitors, I had the town to myself.
In its heyday, Bodie had a population of nearly 10,000 people. The town is named for Waterman Body (aka William Bodey), who discovered small amounts of gold in the hills north of Mono Lake. Body didn't live to reap the rewards of his discovery; he died in a snowstorm while trying to reach his cabin. Legend has it that the town became known as “Bodie” resulting from a misspelled sign on “Bodie Public Stables".
In 1875 a mine cave-in revealed "pay dirt", which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown. Today, only a small part of the town survives. Interiors remain as they were left, and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay".
In 1875 a mine cave-in revealed "pay dirt", which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown. Today, only a small part of the town survives. Interiors remain as they were left, and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay".
As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, a railroad, miners' and mechanics' unions, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences. As with other remote mining towns, Bodie had a popular red light district in the north end of town. Bodie had a Chinatown with several hundred Chinese residents and a Taoist temple. Opium dens were plentiful in this area. On Main Street stands the Miners Union Hall, which was the meeting place for labor unions and an entertainment center that hosted dances, concerts, plays, and school recitals. It now serves as a museum.
The first signs of decline appeared in 1880. Promising mining booms in Montana, Arizona and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich-quick, unmarried miners who originally came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms. Bodie evolved into a family-oriented community. A Methodist Church (which currently stands) and a Roman Catholic Church (burned down about 1930) were both constructed in 1882.
Despite the population decline, the mines flourished, and in 1881 Bodie's ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. Also in 1881, a narrow gauge railroad was built. The Bodie Railway & Lumber Company brought lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.
In 1890, the recently invented cyanide process promised to recover gold and silver from discarded mill tailings and from low-grade ore. In 1892, the Standard Company built its own hydroelectric plant approximately 13 miles away. The plant developed a maximum of 130 horsepower (97 kW) and 3,530 volts alternating current. This pioneering installation marked one of the country's first transmissions of electricity over a long distance.
In 1910, the population was recorded at 698 people, who were predominantly families that decided to stay in Bodie instead of moving on to other prosperous strikes. In 1913, the Standard Consolidated Mine closed. Mining profits in 1914 were at a low of $6,821. James Cain bought everything from the town's lots to the mining claims, and reopened the Standard mill to former employees, which resulted in a $100,000+ profit in 1915. This financial growth was not in time to stop the town's decline. In 1917, the Bodie Railway was abandoned and its iron tracks were scrapped. The last mine closed in 1942 when the War Production Board Order L-208 shutdown all nonessential gold mines in the United States. Mining never resumed.
By 1920, Bodie's population declined to 120 people. Despite the decline, Bodie had permanent residents through most of the 20th century, even after a fire ravaged much of the downtown business district in 1932. A post office operated at Bodie from 1877 to 1942.
Photos:
Click on photos for a larger image.
All photos © 2014 Leon Jackson. All Rights Reserved.
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| Bodie Hills Low cloud cover over Bodie Hills viewed from California Highway 270 (a rough gravel road). The Bodie Hills are a transition zone between the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin. Summit elevations range from 8,000 to 9,000 ft. [flickr] |
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Time stands still in the Bodie General Store. Photo taken through dirty exterior window.
[flickr]
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| Weathered Siding The wood is most likely Jeffery pine that was brought in on the narrow-gauge railroad running from Mono Mills—see 11/21/14 post about the trip from Bishop to Lee Vining. [flickr]  David Cain was born in Carson City, Nevada and lived in this house after he married Ella Cody in 1904. [flickr]  Bodie had its own gasoline stop. Note the bullet holes in the old "Shell" sign. [flickr]  Photo taken through exterior window. [flickr]  [flickr]  Pieces of sheet metal covering the side of building in Bodie. [flickr]  [flickr]  [flickr] |
Methodist Church (circa 1882)
[flickr]
[flickr]
Looking south at the Mono Basin, Mono Lake (elevation 6,400 feet) and the White Mountains from U.S. Highway 395.
[flickr]
Today's Route & Destination:
Scenic Rating: A-
Driving Fun/Road Rating: B- [The driving fun/road rating would be B+, if not for the three miles of very unfriendly gravel road]
Tomorrow:
Day trip to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake.
2 comments:
This terrific, Leon! Great photos and commentary!
I wonder if the ceiling in the general store is the original tin? And that wonderful old typewriter. Hard to imagine meeting a deadline on that! Great stuff, Leon!
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