Bodie, General View, Bodie State Historic Park, Bodie, Mono County, CA

Significance: Bodie is a Registered National Historic Landmark, and California Historical Landmark #341. Placer gold was first discovered here in July, 1859 and a quartz vein was discovered in August, 1859; but, though many efforts were made to exploit the area, it was not until 1874 that the great potential wealth of the district became promising. Bodie reached its pinnacle by 1879-80 when the population was estimated at 10 to 12 thousand, and when the production from the mines on Bodie Bluff was at its peak. During all of the productive years the mines contributed from 95 to 100 million in gold and silver bullion; and "highgrading" was carried on so openly that it was the magnet for the worst of the underworld who made "The Bad Man From Bodie" notorious. Because of the remoteness and the rapid exodus of the populace when mining became unproductive the town is truly a "Ghost Town," without a single all-year inhabitant and with buildings typical of a hastily built mining camp gradually falling to ruins. Its final demise occurred after the fire of 1946 destroyed the Klipstein-Rosecrans Mill which had just been restored to operation in a sporadic effort to revive gold mining in face of diminishing returns due to price pegging. Bodie has been acquired (in 1962) by the State of California as a State Park under the jurisdiction of the Division of Beaches and Parks.
Survey number: HABS CA-1918
Building/structure dates: 1839 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1859 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1874 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1879-1880 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1946 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1962 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1892 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: 1932 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 66000213