Bodie Methodist Church
~~~~PRAISE WAITETH FOR THEE O GOD IN ZION~~~ Methodist Church, Bodie California.
Bodie Methodist Church
Bodie Methodist Church, which was established during the height of the Mining boom in the late 19th century, served as a crucial spiritual haven for the diverse and vibrant community of Bodie.
Built in 1879, the Church reflects the architectural style that was prevalent during its period, featuring a simple yet remarkably sturdy wooden structure that stood resilient against the “harsh and often unforgiving weather conditions” of the Sierra Nevada.
The Methodist Church was built under the jurisdiction of Nevada State Methodist Mission, at the peak of Bodie’s boom (1882) with Reverend Hinkle serving as the congregations First Minister. It was the only Protestant Church built in Bodie. (The Bodie Catholic Church no longer stands.)
It was restored in 1928 by E. J. Clinton (of Clinton Cafeterias in San Francisco,) who engaged in an unsuccessful mining venture in Bodie.
Mr. Clinton conducted services as a lay minister until 1932, when the small Congregation finally disbanded. The building was then locked and left idle. It played a vital role in shaping the social fabric of the town, offering essential “faith services,” Community gatherings, and a profound sense of Hope amid the numerous challenges faced by the Miners and their families in this rugged environment and isolated location.
Although the Methodist Church now stands as a Historic Building of significance in Bodie, its enduring Legacy lives on as a powerful Testament to the indomitable spirit and unwavering “Christian Faith” of those who once called, “Bodie their home,” and sought solace within its walls.
Unique to “ONLY IN BODIE”
Engraved in stone… the unique “only in Bodie” Stories ….
From the meticulously documented Burials and Headstone Inscriptions within the “Proper Cemetery” to the poignant tales of those laid to rest “outside the fence”— the stories of misfits, and the marginalized, which include Prostitutes, Gunman, and Chinese laborers. This is not a CEMETERY; it is a Timeline…. a Timeline of the unique Bodie Miners Union, and the “isolated, remote township” the miners’ built in the frozen-ground location above treeline, at the windswept 8400 ft elevation in Mono County, California.The Bodie Cemetery Timeline serves as a poignant record of the lives lost in the historic mining town of Bodie, California. Established in the late 19th century, the Bodie Cemetery initially catered to the community's burgeoning Miner population, documenting burials that reflect the harsh realities of mining life in the isolated 8,400ft mountain location.
As families and individuals succumbed to accidents, disease, and violence, gravestones began to appear on the hillside. Each grave-plot marking a unique story with inscriptions. Inscriptions that often revealed the emotional weight of infant or a young children’s brief existences. Women dying from “childbirth complications,” were the first burial in the “family plot.”
While many prominent Bodie citizens were interred within the fenced area of the Proper Cemetery, it is “Outside the Fence,” where the forgotten Souls of former Prostitutes, Gunmen, and Chinese immigrants were laid to rest.
The unmarked graves “Outside the Fence,” highlighting the diverse and often overlooked narratives that contributed to Bodie's town and mining history. The Timeline not only chronicles, the “dates and names” of the deceased, but also serves as a “solemn reminder” of the mining community's Legacy, and the transience of life in this once-thriving Mountain town and Mining District.
Bodie Mines Report & Suicide 1883
Bodie Cemetery- Sagebrush and Unmarked Graves and the very top Warren Loose grave.
~~Suicide and - the Bodie Mines Report -1 August 1883
Daily Alta California, Volume 35, Number 12161 , 1 August 1883
BODIE, Cal., July 31st—About eight o’clock this morning Chester W. Mills, a carpenter, 51 years of age, committed Suicide by “blowing his brains out with a revolver.” A “state of domestic infelicity” is believed to have been the cause. The deceased was living with his third wife. He was a Pioneer of this section, and had lived here for twenty years. (There is no mention of a “funeral” or where or if he was buried in the Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery.”)
BODIE MINES REPORT-During the week the STANDARD MINE extracted 1287 tons of Bullion, and shipped 14,004. The “last cross cut” on the 1200 level is in 440 feet.
The “North Drift” on the 1000 level is in256 feet wide. The “South Drift” is 203 feet. the vein is 5 feet wide, and “looking well.”
The “Upraise” is up 110 feet: vein 4 1/2 feet wide. The upper levels are producing the usual amount of ores.
BODIE MINE crushed 146 tons; average Pulp Assay $23 1/2. Bullion shipment $2262. The “West Cross Cut” on the 1000 level is 312 feet. The “East Cross Cut” on the same level is on 404 feet. Prospecting unbid tunnels continues.
~~~Keeping the BODIE MINING DISTRICT in the Newspapers (both San Francisco and Sacramento papers) was extremely important for keeping “Investors positive” about their speculation on the “Bullion Assays.” Funding the construction of the Stamp Mills took “capital investors” to keep the Mines in operation. Most important “the Assay” was was paying the miners’ wages- not the “bullion” coming out of the Mines. The Investors needed the “confidence” of the “Bodie Mining Stocks” to reflex, the operations worth and sustainability.
The Mines in Virgina City, Nevada had been very speculative for “early investors.” The money that pour into the Financial Markets from the COMSTOCK MINE- made “Mining Stocks” the future in 1880’s. The Bodie Mining District had to keep competitive in the Stock Market with its “news of new levels of tunnels, and the amount of “bullion being ship weekly!”
James Gordon Welch- Died 19 September 1907 Aged 1 year 22 days
~~~JAMES GORDON WELCH (died 7 September 1907- Aged 1 year, 22 Months) Buried in the Dolan Family Plot.
~~~JAMES GORDON WELSH
Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 16 September 1907:
Doings In Bodie. The young son of Mr. and Mrs. George Welch is still in a “critical condition.” All is being done that is possible and it is hoped the little Fellow will pull through.
James Gordon Welch (died 19 September 1907- infant grave in the Dolan Family Plot- Bodie Miners Union Cemetery section.
Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 21 September1907:
Sad Errand-Sheriff Dolan was called to Bodie Thursday evening by a telegram, announcing the “death of his young Nephew,” the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Welch.
Bodie Fraternal Burial Association, Report, Receipts, Year ending 5/31/1908: Welch Child burial charges,-$42.
The Angel of Bodie!
Evelyn K. Meyers “ ANGEL OF BODIE” Born May 1, 1894- Died May 1, 1894.
EVELYN K. MEYERS- “Angel of Bodie” - died 1 May 1894.
A beautifully sculptured, “Angel gravestone” serves as a soothing and comforting Memorial.
“Angels are regarded as agents of God.” Families usually opt for an angel headstone (irrespective of their religious beliefs), in hope that the angels will take care of their deceased child.
This “Angel of Bodie” stone captures the sense of sorrow and lose to the Meyers family.
Evelyn Beloved daughter of Fannie O. and Albert K. Meyers. Evelyn died from an accidential struck to the head with a pick ax by a workman, who was building a drainage ditch around the Meyer’s home. (Bridgeport Chronicle- Union April 5, 1897)
Mourning the Dead in Bodie, Importance of Grave-site Service!
When death occurred in the late 1800s, no one contacted a “funeral home,” no calls were made to “Morticians to handle the burial arrangements.” No one had to go through the “process of contacting the right people” to carry out the task for burying the deceased. Mainly because there were no “funeral homes or funeral directors.” Up until the early 19th century, “the task of preparing the dead for burial,” was seen as a very simple, dignified Family Affair.
During pre-Civil War times, the funeral process followed a typical pattern . One in which people generally, died at home surrounded by their friends and family.
Upon their deaths, the body was laid out by close relations, who washed and dressed the body in a shroud or “winding sheet” made of muslin or wool. Afterwards, the deceased , was placed in a simple pine coffin, often constructed by a family member or neighbor.
It was during this time that the body would remain at home, in the parlor for one to three days. Relatives, neighbors or close friends would “voluntarily watch over the body,” keeping a Round-the-Clock Vigil. Depending on the weather, a large block of ice may have been placed beneath the coffin, with smaller chunks distributed about the unembalmed body.
On the day of the Burial, Hymns were sung, Psalms Read, a Discourse and Eulogy was delivered. As family and friends paid their final respects to their loved one, during “a in-home-service” held often at the home of the deceased.
When the “final goodbyes were said,” so began the journey of the deceased to their “final resting place.” Depending on the distance, the Coffin would be carried by Pallbearers on foot, or conveyed in a Horse-Drawn Wagon through a sombre procession to a grave, pre-dug and awaited by a Sexton.
Upon lowering the Coffin into the ground, “final grave-site words” were spoken by anyone who wished to speak. Shortly after, Mourners would toss a branch, some straw, or a handful of earth onto the coffin lid as a ritual farewell gesture before the grave was filled. As the onlookers stood by and watched or, as more often then not, the mourner’s performed the “task of filling in the grave themselves.”
This was the Mourning Vigil. Every stage of the Process, from the “laying out of the corpse,” to the sewing of the shroud; the watching of the body and the construction of the coffin; the carrying of the coffin and the digging of the grave, each step was conducted, for the most part, by family and friends of the deceased.
The “Mourning Virgil” was an intimate affair, full of catharsis and closure, as Mourners partook in the Ritual of Honoring the Dead.
How President Garfield Monument became in the Bodie Cemetery!
~~~President Garfield’s - Bodie Masonic Cemetery -“Dedicated Monument” instead of William Bodey “cast-iron marker”!!
The “1881 proposed William Bodey grave-marker,” got changed from a simple “cast iron marker” to a “9-foot Granate Stone Monolith.”
~~~~Time passed, and the Bodie-town-folk forgot all about the idea of “the grave marker for Bodey.”
~~(Bodey’s remains were in an unknown, unmarked, unkept location in one of the three areas of the cemetery. Forgotten by all, “who had raised funds” for the grave and Monolith marker.)
~~~With President Garfields long lingering, suffering from an assassins bullet, and then his death on September 1881. The citizens of Bodie got swept up in the “national- mourning of the Garfields death.” The citizens sentiment changed and it was decided to “Dedicate the Monument" to the 20th President instead of the Mining districts founder William Bodey.
~~William Bodey’s grave is still unknown and “unmarked,” and its “location is lost to history.”