Change in Spelling-Bodey to BODIE

Bodey was changed to Bodie- by a “sign painter”- then the “Seneca Quartz Load”- NOTICE OF LOCATION “Bodie appeared!”

Sign painter changes the spelling from Bodey to Bodie!

The changed spelling of “Bodey to Bodie” is found throughout the Mining District The name “Bodey was changed to Bodie” in 1862 as a result of a “clerical error.”

~~October 15, 1862, on the “NOTICE OF LOCATION of the Seneca Quartz Lode”, the name “BODIE” appears for the first time. 

The spelling had been originally changed by a sign painter,, who had an order to paint a sign  for the owner of the BODEY RANCH LIVERY STABLES, located in  Aurora. The painter decided “BODIE STABLES’ was a  was more pleasing spelling, and thus the “spelling of the towns name” went forward as “Bodie instead of Bodey.”

The town was initially named after William Bodey, who discovered gold in the area, leading to a mining boom. When the community was officially recognized, a misspelling occurred, transforming "Bodey" into "Bodie." This new spelling quickly became accepted and was used in official documents and maps, solidifying “Bodie's identity” within the historical narrative of the American West.

The “Bodie name” became synonymous with the mining town's rich history, and diverse community, which included Miners, entrepreneurs, and various groups that contributed to its development of township at the moutain elevation of 8,400 feet in Mono County

Today, Bodie, (Mono County) remains a testament to the Gold Rush era in California History. The Bodie Cemetery serves as a “window” into the lives of Miners, who once inhabited the town. The graves of those, who died as a result of Dynamite Explosions, tunnel cave-in and the resulting fires. The Bodie Graveyard gives the visitors the reminder of the men, women and children and their families, who contributed to Bodie’s Mining history.