Ghost Town

Now this is scary . . .

I took this picture through the window of the school house in Bodie, a ghost town in California about 80 miles south east of Tahoe in Mono County. Bodie was established as a mining town in the mid-1800's. Population grew to 10,000 at one point, then dwindled to around 700 by 1910. In 1932, when a fire destroyed all but 200 buildings, most of the town's remaining 100 residents left (leaving behind much of their belongings). Bodie became a state park in 1962 and is now in a state of "arrested decay" for your viewing pleasure.

They must have left in October as there were several jack-o-lanterns in the school house.

One home is open with the rooms roped off, but as for the rest, you must be satisfied to look through the windows. It truly is a fascinating place to visit.

Here are glimpses into the past: (Click on pictures for a larger view.)

Inside the school house.

Outside of the school house

One of the "nicer" homes

Can you imagine having to leave your sewing machine behind? How sad.

Most of these pictures were taken through the window with my camera lense up against the glass resulting in poor quality in some photos (like the one below).

Another sad sewing machine. I liked the bird cage.

Almost all of the homes had wall paper. In some, you could see several layers where the top layer was peeling off.

A child's booster chair in the kitchen. (This is the house you could walk into.)

Crib, bathtub and radio in this room

Close-up of the wall paper in the front room.


I think they used flattened out tin cans for siding.

Our friend, Richard, is holding up this building.

Hotel room. Most of the commercial buildings had this pressed tin wall covering. I would love to have a sampling of it.

Hotel kitchen with more pressed tin.

If you're in California, Bodie is definately worth a visit. If you would like to see more pictures, visit my Bodie flickr album