Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Bodie in Mono County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Life in Bodie

A City Grown from the Eastern High Sierra Mud

 
 
Life in Bodie Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2015
1. Life in Bodie Marker
Captions: (top left) Fourth of July Marching Band; (center left) Foot Race on the 4 Bodie; (right side) After the boom years the population steadily decreased; (upper left) Bodie Chinatown; (center left) Girls picnic in the aspen grove; (center right) Interior of Newspaper Office, 1904; (bottom left) Christmas in Bodie. (bottom center) Mr. & Mrs. Marjoram; Bodieites watched baseball at the Booker Flat field when the "Bodie Mutts" played the mining company teams and teams from nearby towns.
Inscription.
Men, women and children came from all of the U.S. states, and from the world, to live and work here during the Bodie heyday. At the height of the boom in 1881, Bodie claimed 65 saloons, 18 lodging houses and hotels, three breweries, wholesale liquor dealers, more than a dozen markets, restaurants, two banks, barbershops, newspapers, a school, a post office and a telegraph office.

You might have enjoyed an ice cream on a warm day, or oysters packed in ice and shipped from San Francisco. During the boom years the camp struggled along without a church, though regular services were held in the Miner's Union Hall and then, after 1878, in the Odd Fellows Hall.

On the north end of town a rougher element of society frequently saloons and Faro tables. They drank Bodie Lightning, better known as whiskey, and visited the "Red Light District" and the opium dens. Gunshots rang through the streets. Gambling, drunkenness and violence plagued law abiding citizens.

Community minded residents gathered toward the south end of town for more respectable activities. On the Fourth of July families attended the annual street parade accompanied by the band and watched children participate in games while men competed in hard rock "drilling" contests. Wrestling competitions were frequent among the men.

Couples
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
enjoyed fancy dress balls at the Miner's Union Hall, which doubled as a social center. Children's recitals, concerts, along with other events kept the "proper" women of the town occupied planning festivities. Booker Flat, south of town, featured a horse racing track and nearby was the baseball field where the "Bodie Mutts" played ball.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: EntertainmentIndustry & CommerceSettlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1881.
 
Location. 38° 12.812′ N, 119° 0.891′ W. Marker is in Bodie, California, in Mono County. Marker can be reached from Bodie Bypass Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bridgeport CA 93517, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Bodie (a few steps from this marker); Return to Bodie (a few steps from this marker); The Red Cloud Mine (a few steps from this marker); Welcome to Bodie (within shouting distance of this marker); James Stuart Cain (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bodey’s Grave (approx. 0.2 miles away); Bodie and Benton R. R. (approx. 8 miles away); Aurora (approx. 8.2 miles away in Nevada). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bodie.
 
More about this marker. This marker is located near the parking lot
Life in Bodie Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2015
2. Life in Bodie Marker
and restrooms at Bodie State Historical Park.
 
Welcome to Bodie image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2015
3. Welcome to Bodie
This bird's-eye-view is on the opposite side of the Life in Bodie marker.
Bodie image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 24, 2015
4. Bodie
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 428 times since then and 4 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 3, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=89292

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 19, 2024