Day 103: Bodie Historic District, Bodie, California
📌APIA Every Day (103) - Bodie Historic District, a town formed during the California Gold Rush, is located 7 miles south of Bridgeport, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. As part of the California Gold Rush, many Chinese came to live and work in Bodie during its early years. When gold was discovered in the Mono Lake region in 1852, William Bodey and E.S. Taylor claimed and established camp in the area. After Bodey’s death, and the discovery of large deposits of gold and silver, the population boomed as people streamed into Bodie in search of riches.
By 1878, many Chinese immigrants came to Bodie from Southern China as contract laborers. They settled on the outskirts of the town in a Chinese community, or "Chinatown," northwest of Main and King Streets. The Chinese residents of Bodie faced discrimination in the local mines, which forced them to turn to service occupations for employment. They operated laundries, peddled vegetables (shipped in by express), supplied charcoal, and provided most of the wood used in the town. Bodie's Chinatown was made up of two- and three-story wooden buildings and included general stores, homes, laundries, boarding houses, a restaurant, opium dens, a Taoist temple, saloons, and gambling establishments. Newspaper accounts depicted a thriving community and mentioned Chinese New Year's celebrations and large funerals. At its peak in 1880, several hundred Chinese lived in Bodie's Chinatown. However, as the supply of mineable material became scarce, people began to leave the area. This was exacerbated by fires in 1892 and 1932, downsizing the town significantly. Finally, in 1942, the War Production Board officially suspended mining operation, causing the last residents of Bodie to leave shortly thereafter.
Today, 110 buildings still stand in and around the town and building interiors remain as they were left, still stocked with goods and furniture. The Bodie Historic District was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1961 and a State Historic Park in 1962.
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Bodie Historic District
California State Parks: Bodie State Historic Park
Atlas Obscura: Bodie State Historic Park
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