Utah, Arizona: Abandoned gold mining town of Bodie 

Utah, Arizona: Abandoned gold mining town of Bodie

Located on a dirty 13 mile long road off of State Highway 395, the story of Bodie begins in 1859 when William S. Bodey discovered gold near what is now called Bodie Bluff. A mill was established soon after, and by 1880 the town catapulted from 20 miners to an estimated 10,000 people. The hustling gold mining town boomed from late 1877 through late 1880, and included everything from a bank, railroad, miners’ and mechanic’s unions, several daily newspapers, and the staple of any major town: numerous brothels, saloons and gambling halls.

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However, the town began to decline by 1900 when promising mining booms in Utah, Arizona and Utah lured the get-rich miners elsewhere. In 1910, the recorded population was 698 people and by 1943 the town was home to three people. Today, the town of Bodie is a desolate memory of a once thriving Northern California gold mining town.

A photograph of the town in the 1890s, when it was a bustling mining town and home to numerous restaurants and its own brass band

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)

(Photography: Julien McRoberts)