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Bodie California


Subdeacon Joe

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Throwback Thursday
In the late 1870s, newspaper reports helped bring in more people eager to get a piece of the golden pie in Bodie. 

In the October 26, 1877 edition of the Carson City Morning Appeal, a correspondent penned “A letter from Bodie,” which first described his awakening one morning in Bodie. He spoke of seeing “majestic hills and lowly valleys, the Chinese restaurant and all the corner lots were covered with the soft mantle of the beautiful snow.”

The reporter visited several of the mines and had glowing reports. “The Red Cloud mine owned by Gov. Blasdel (Henry Blasdel, first Governor of Nevada) and son, is really a rich prospect.” At the Standard Mining Company, Superintendent William Irwin arranged for a pass to go underground. “We beheld a sight which would make an old gold-hunter wild. The rock, it can hardly be called rock, it is so soft and easily milled, is just gorgeous in gold.”

The Carson City reporter also proclaimed the Bodie Mine as “looking well” and offered similar favorable reviews of the Bulwer and Syndicate mines.

In early 1879, a reporter from the Reno Gazette-Journal paper offered a rosy report of the booming town of Bodie. “Bodie has a population of about 3,500. Business is very good and the place has no more than a town’s share of idle men. In the spring, a rush is expected, but let them come. The town will accommodate a number and the others can float off in different directions. Bodie has at least three good mines…the Standard, the Bodie and the Bulwer.”
#ThrowbackThursday
Photo of a crowd outside the Mono County Bank in 1879 by R.E. Wood, courtesy of California State University, Chico, Meriam Library Special Collections.

 

 

FB_IMG_1683815874111.jpg

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Noticing the miners in the back resting and the kids makes me wonder if anyone in the photo is still a resident?  

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16 minutes ago, Cypress Sun said:

Looks like only one (for sure), maybe two are armed. Goes a long way toward the belief that the townsfolk were unarmed most of the time.

 

Perhaps more were armed but they didn't feel the need to display whereas a couple fellers either wore like that or couldn't help posing iron for a picture.

 

We'll never know but some folks probably carried small pocket pistols and in the pocket they stayed.

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+1 to this^

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7 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

I wasn’t really aware of what Bodie was and is until I looked it up.  Interesting! Thanks for the post, Joe. 
 

I learn something new every day!

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie,_California

Bodie is a ghost town I'd love to visit. There have recently been some really neat threads/pics/histories about Bodie posted here. 

 

There are several in Montana as well I'd love to visit.

 

Sounds like the topic for a separate thread.  :D

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55 minutes ago, Dantankerous said:

Bodie is a ghost town I'd love to visit. There have recently been some really neat threads/pics/histories about Bodie posted here. 

 

There are several in Montana as well I'd love to visit.

 

Sounds like the topic for a separate thread.  :D

BTDT- Very much worth the visit! ;)

 

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