Bodie was a “Union town”

Bodie was a “Union Town”- not a “company owned mining town.”

Bodie was a “Miners’ Union town.” It was not a “Company-owned town.” It was not a “cute or romantic town.”

The pioneers, who filed the “first claims”- were miners. The “Bodie township,” was by the rules and organization of the membership of the Bodie Miners’ Union. The Standard Mine, Bodie Mine, Syndicate Mine, Dudley, Bechtel Mine did not “own the housing, stores or bank” in Bodie. Bodie was an “enterprising place”- with stables, blacksmiths, warehouses and “make-shift buildings and barns.”

The Bodie Miners’ Union Meeting Hall was the “center of the town,” Built by the 190 members in 1879- the Meeting Hall- It served the entire “lawless community.” For the men, it was the “social and spiritual” center for gathering and entertainment.

Prior to arriving in Bodie, or organizing “Miners’ Union”- outside of Bodie, the men individually had “brotherhood” membership and “spiritual bonds of connection” with the Masonic Lodge, or I. O. O. F. (Oddfellow) Fraternal organizations.

Also, many of the miners’ had come from the Virginia City (or the Comstock Mine) - they had paid into the Miners’ Union of Virginia City. The Bodie Miners’ Union Constitution & By-Laws - December 22, 1877 is very similar to the Miners’ Union of Virgina City- Constitution & By-Laws.

The “rules and conduct of Bodie” was by the Bodie Miners’ Union- and that included “cemetery ground.” Thus, the organization of the Bodie Cemetery- just like Virgina City- a Masonic Cemetery, IOOF Cemetery, and a Miners’ Union Cemetery.

~~~Keeping out the Cattle~~

UP-TO-DATE MFG. TERRE HAUTE CO. IND.- Specialty fence surrounding -John S. McCraken’s grave- 1905.

The Metal Fences surrounding the Graves in the Bodie Cemetery-

JOHN S. McCRACKEN- died 19 April 1905 Aged 42 years. Buried in Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery.

Specialty metal fences were ordered from Mail Order Catalogs, and shipped to Bodie in pieces. Once constructed around a individual grave, the purpose of the fence was to mark the graves location on the open hillside.

The short fences, also deterred the wandering cattle from trampling the grave above ground, or getting to the contents in the buried coffin below ground.

Nathan Cook Gregory-aged 3 years, 8 months

~~ NATHAN GREGORY Family Plot- Bodie Cemetery-Wards Cemetery

NATHAN COOK GREGORY- aged 3 years, 8 months

Son of Nathan H. & Catherine C. Gregory- (January 12, 1887 -September 22, 1890)

Suffer little children to come unto me.

Forbid them not, for such is the Kingdom of Heaven

Buried in the fenced “Gregory family plot,”- Nathan Hall Gregory operated a Cattle Ranch between Bodie and Aurora, while maintaining a residence in Bodie.

EARNEST CAMPANA-1855-1923

EARNEST CAMPANA- 1855-1923 (age 68) -Buried in Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery.

The “story written in stone”-Earnest Campana (1855-1923)

1896 Mono County Great Register of Voters: Ernesto Campana,

Laborer, 40 yrs, 5’ 4” tall, Dark complexion, Gray eyes, Gray hair, Mole on right cheek,

b. Switzerland, Residence-Bodie East,

Naturalized-10/16/1880, U.S. Distinct , Nevada, Registered-5/6/1896,

Post Office Address-Bodie, California.

~~Ernesto Campana was “Born in Switzerland in 1855,” and became a “Naturalized United States Citizen -October 16, 1880.

The 1896 MONO COUNTY GREAT REGISTER OF VOTERS: 5’4’’ tall, Dark complexion, Gray hair, and Mole on right cheek.

His Physical Description- 5’ 4” in height — gives life to “laborer Campana- living in Bodie in 1896 at age 40 years of age.

His Facial Description with a “Mole on his right cheek, dark complexion, and at 40 years- grey hair.”

Interred in the Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery in 1923- the 1920 Federal Census- Bodie, California population was 110 citizens.

I.O.O.F Bodie Lodge #275

~~Wooden building on the right—-I. O. O. F. BODIE LODGE #279- very little can be seen of the “White Letters”- I O O F.

I.O.O.F- BODIE LODGE No. 279- was located above Henry Wards- PIONEER FURNITURE Company.

I. N. MKEAN- born- 24 March 1860, Died- 30 May 1923.- Buried in WARDS CEMETERY (I. O. O. F. Cemetery)

Independent Order of Odd Fellows- three chain links with F. L. T. inside stand for FRIENDSHIP, LOVE and TRUTH. 

~~Buried in the WARDS CEMETERY section of the Bodie Cemetery- the only “Story Written in Stone,” is Mr. I. N. MKEAN died on May 30, 1923- at the age of 63 years of age. (Born- March 24, 1860.)

~~Mr. I. N. MKEAN was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. —the “three chain links with F.T.L—-telling he lived a “life of Devotion, Friendship and Truth.” He was interred in an ODD FELLOWS Cemetery- also defines “his Fraternal Brotherhood.”

Cholera- “secret enemy” of the 1850’s Gold Seekers!

~~~Coffins- inside Bodie Morge!

With gold was discovered at Sutter’s mill near Sutter’s mill, California in 1848, a new kind of emigration began. Single men, arriving at the towns of the Missouri river with their possessions packed on mules, followed the “call of the Gold Strikes.” Sometimes the Forty-Niners were married men, who left their families behind in order to travel unencumbered.

~~5,000 emigrants and their families crossed the Trail before 1848. Thirty-three thousand emigrants “crossed the wagon trail in 1849, and 55,000 emigrants in 1850. (September 9, 1850- California was admitted to the Union as the 31st State.)

The “Discovery of Gold” threw the entire Nation- and the World- into a state of “Gold Fever.”

~~The visions of riches that could be had was “pure intoxicating.” Cornish and Australians, Italian and Irishmen came to work the mines. Chinese, Mexicans and Latin Americans joined the “rush for gold and silver.” 

~~Winds and heavy rains soaked the route, and shabbily constructed mining camps. Without experience, both at pioneering and at mining, men suffered through the Winter of 1850 in dismal hovels. Lonesome and wet and cold and sick, they lived in canvas tents and blankets for bedrolls.  

The “secret enemy” of the Gold-Seekers was Cholera.

16 January 1919- Bodie Mining Camp takes it place among Has-Beens!!

BODIE MINES MAP—— by January 1919- Newspapers reporting on the “Decline of the Famous Mining Camp of Bodie!”

January 16, 1919

~~~FAMOUS BODIE MINE CAMP TAKES PLACE AMONG HAS-BEENS~~~

BODIE (MOMO COUNTY), Jan. 15—— With the Bodie Postoffice closed, the Stage Line from Thorne, Nevada discontinued, and practically every Mine in the District idle, the once, “famous mining camp of Bodie,” has virtually ceased to be.

The few residents (population 110), still clinging to the old town are forced to go to Bridgeport for Mail, and private conveyances from the only means of entering, or leaving the Mining Camp.

Twenty years ago—-(1900 Federal Census - 965 citizens, 80 Chinese immigrants)—- Bodie was one of the leading Gold-Producing-Camps of California, with the Standard Mine, the main support, famous throughout the West.

For more than forty years—-(1880-1920)—- Bodie has been a “noted gold yielder,” but “litigation, impoverishment of the ore bodies at depth and heavy flows of water in the deep levels of the Standard and other mines,” united to still the Wheels of Prosperity.

Press Democrat, Volume LXV, Number 227, 15 January 1919

Lottie Johl- d.7 November 1899

Lottie Johl- painting hanging in Bodie Museum.

Mr. Eli Johl really had to fight to have “his wife” buried in the  Bodie “Proper Cemetery.” The “inside the fence,” Bodie Cemetery was for the Bodie Miners’ Union “brotherhood, ”and the Masonic & IOOF “Fraternal members”—- not “outcasts”, or former prostitutes.

Miss Lottie Calhoun met Mr. Eli Johl, a rough German man, who co-owned the City Market, where he worked as a “Meat-cutter or Butcher.” They were married in July 4, 1881 in Nevada.

Esmeralda County NV Marriage Records
Volume Misc. page 30
Eli Johl and Lottie Calhoun were married on 4 July 1881.

Framed Photograph of Lottie Johl- hanging in Bodie Museum.

Lottie Johl died 7 November 1899.

SUDDEN DEATH. A great gloom was cast-over Bodie on Tuesday by the death of Mrs. Eli Johl, a mistake having been made, it is said, in taking a dose of poison instead of salts. Doctors Cox and Robinson did all in their power to save her but without avail. Bridgeport Chronicle-Union, 9 November 1899
~~~Lottie Johl grave is of notice in the Bodie Cemetery, only because of the “surrounding ornate grave-plot fence.” No headstone or marker tells of any existence of Mrs. Eli Johl. (It is unknown when or where Eli Johl died or was interred.)

Bodie Cemetery- fenced grave-plot- Lottie Johl- died November 7, 1899.

Bodie —“Celestial Empire”

~~BODIE CALIFORNIA- Reflecting on daily life living in Bodie~~~

Celestials in Bodie… CHINATOWN~~~~

“Celestials” was a term commonly used in mainstream “Newspapers of the Day,” to denote Chinese immigrants. The “Celestial slang term” was derived  from references to China as the “Celestial Empire.”

“John” was a commonly used name, also used in the mainstream and daily published Newspapers press to denote a Chinese immigrant.

~~This slang term, “John,” came from the tendency for European-Americans citizens to refer to Chinese men as “John Chinaman”. The European immigrants or “Anglos,” could not easily remember, or pronounce  proper Chinese names. Also the European-Americans or “Anglos,”  often perceived Chinese men as “indistinguishable from one another.”

~~~Coming to California in the late 1880’s almost all Chinese Nationals were single men. They came via the “credit ticket system.” Meaning- You bought your ticket in China on Credit, and signed a Contract to pay back the sizable debt in cash.  (The Ticket was “good for passage to California, and the necessary paperwork to enter the United States.” Once in America, how you earned the money to pay back the debt was up to you.) There was no time limit on the repaying the money. Only the Debt had to be paid, before you returned to China.

~~In California, you could go to the appropriate agency in San Francisco’s Chinatown to get the Paperwork needed to prove you were free of debt- "your Credit Ticket.” Then you could return home to China. Without the “Certificate,” no returning to China was unacceptable, because it would reflect badly on you and your enter family. The social pressure on the Issue was tremendous. Although, using the “Credit Ticket System” was perfectly acceptable, returning home to China, with the Debt unpaid was not.

~~The Federal Census lists Bodie population at 2,712, with about 350 Chinese listed by name in the “official count.” In Bodie, there was a deep cultural difference between the European- American miner workers, and the Chinese immigrants, which made communication difficult. The Chinese men were not eligible for Membership in the Bodie Miner’s Union. They formed a “Chinatown, all living in close quarters near the Slaughterhouse in Bodie. There they labored in the “Chinese Laundry”- or cutting, chopping and hauling of firewood- need for the mining operations.

~~In August 1880, it was noted in the Weekly Standard-News, that the Chinese were the “first citizens to have a House of Worship.” The “Chinese Men”— “had bought and converted the Sonora Dance House into a  Joss Temple.”  Joss Temples— got their name from the incense sticks, or “Joss Sticks” that were buried in the temples.

~~When a Chinese immigrant died in Bodie, their interment was considered to be “temporary”. It was very important, to be “laid to rest in the Family Plot” in China. They practiced Ancestral Worship. Therefore Chinese immigrants, felt the urgency of keeping in line with proper Spiritual Ritual. 

~~In China, you would be “laid to rest with the rest of your family.” Your Descendants would care for your Grave, and you would become part of the Family Heritage.

~~The “Temporary Interment”- in forgotten, (never recorded location) of the Chinese immigrants that “were laid to rest” in the Bodie Cemetery is part of a larger “Cultural Heritage,” and the Bodie Miners’ Union.

~~Both the membership of the Bodie Miners’ Union and “Bodie Chinatown”—- together established Bodie as a Mining District. Without the Chinese labor “outside the mines”- tolerating living at the isolated, mountain-slope elevation of 8,350 feet would not have been possible. The realities were too harsh- and the “harshness- manifested”— in Death —-and never returning to China.” Also, never being recognized, or remembered for living in America.

…the “wife of” Obituary …

WIFE OF W. J. McKEOUGH-….”The Wife of” status- remembered in the Bodie Cemetery.

~~Obituaries are a rearview mirror, reflecting “the World as it was, not as it is, and not as one might wish it to have been.”  

~~There is only so much type space in a printed Newspaper. The “newsworthiness” of the Reported Death was to sum up the deceased life. The justification of the Obituary was in the Story- “the life summery” told.

~~The “intent” was never to honor the Dead, those Tributes were left to the Church Service Eulogists. 

~~The most newsworthy deaths were  about Elected Officials, Business Owners or Industry Titans. These mens “Deaths Notices” were generally reported in the Newspapers.

~~If an Elected Official, Business Owner or Industry Titan,  “Wife superseded her Husband in death,” the “deceased Wife Obituary,” usually reported details about  her husbands “financial success, or listed His accomplishments, or his heroic Military Actions.”

The  “the wife of Obituary” story —was about the Man she had married- his Family- his Social Standing, —his Civic Importance, —-his War Decorations to give Military Status. The Wife and children if “column room space” allowed,  would be mentioned “only if they were grown and noteworthy Adults.”  

~~The “wife of” life summery was of no interest, unless she had “died in childbirth. A tragic  “combined Death Notice and  a Surviving Child  Birth Announcement,”  was both, Newsworthy and justification for a “Wife” Obituary.”

~~The newly Widowed man- “her Husband was now a Story,” the Newspaper Obituary Editors , could share with the regular Newspaper  Reporters. 

A “Tragic Story” could be moved from  the Obituary Column, and be printed on the second or third page  in the Newspaper.

1880-Bodie Cemetery

“Dead House” and where the Glass Horse-Drawn Hearse was stored. Sage covered Bodie Cemetery.

“the Dearly Departed” and the Need for a “Bodie Cemetery”….

As the early pioneers of the mining camp “met their maker,” the “Dearly Departed” were taken to early Cemeteries in neighboring towns of Aurora and Bridgeport. The 13 mile trek  over the terrain, to those cemeteries was an ordeal of inconvenience.  Winter storms and snow depths made it impossible for the mule pulled freight-wagons to leave Bodie. Necessity was the choice for Bodie having a graveyard.

The “swampy” flat at the southern end of the Bodie Mining camp, provided a much more convenient location for interments and became the site of Boot Hill.  Only there was a problem with the water table. Here the water table was so high, graves often flooded with water.

In the year 1877, graves with markers intact were moved 880 feet to the “new hillside location,” which became Mono County’s Bodie Cemetery. (It is unknown how many unmarked graves remain hidden in the original “swampy” section of the original Cemetery.) 

By 1880 as Bodie’s population had reached - 2,712 citizens, with 350 Chinese immigrants according to the Federal Census of 1880. The Standard Mine Explosion of July 11, 1879- killed five men- and wounded about 11 more. Burial ground needed to be within the township and closer to the mines, where miners faced the dangerous and often catastrophic daily work life.

Death tolls inevitably rose as a result of both disaster’s and disease. The Bodie Cemetery grew to three discrete burial areas. The boundaries of the Bodies “three cemeteries” were separated by an enclosured fence. The “fenced sections” were Bodie Masonic Lodge No. 252- Masonic Cemetery, Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery, and  undertaker Henry Wards “IOOF” Cemetery, or “Wards Cemetery.”

The “deceased miners, their wives and children” were buried “Within the fence in the Private Paid Cemetery.” The fenced Bodie Cemetery kept out the wandering cattle, that could trample and destroy the graves. The family-plot layout was “paid-for plots- with markers of stone, and individual plot fences.”

The Mono County “Indigent Cemetery” was a by “Death-Date-Burial.” Unmarked graves and unfenced for any signification of the persons identity name or deathdate. The outcasts or “un-respectable”- the bad men and women- were buried “outside the fence in the “pauper cemetery.” Chinese immigrant workers were also buried indigent, and in unmarked graves, which today are sage-cover and unknown location. What is know two know former “fallen women” are buried outside the fence. (Rose May grave is identified. Mrs. Drapers grave can not be identified.)

Near the  fenced entrance to the cemetery, a brick Morgue was built. Also known as the Dead House, bodies were stored here during Bodie’s harsh Winters ,when the ground was so frozen that funerals had to be delayed. Blasting powder was sometimes deployed to loosen ice and snow so graves could be dug.

During these fierce Winters, “wooden sleds were drawn through the snow” instead of the ornate Horse Drawn Hearses. 

Prohibition Years! 1920-1933

PAGDIN — Used during “Prohibition (1920-December 3, 1933)- for “Alcoholic Beverage transaction” in Bodie, California.

December 5, 1933——NATIONWIDE PROHIBITION ended with the ratification of the TWENTY- FIRST AMENDMENT which repealed the EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT.

Prohibition in the United States was a Nationwide Constitutional ban on the Production, Importation, Transportation and Sale of  Alcoholic Beverages, that remained in place from 1920-1933. Mandated under the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution. December 5, 1933- Ended Nationwide Prohibition.

In 1920- The population of Bodie, Mono County, California listed in the U. S. Federal Census was 110 Citizens.

Ten years later- the 1930 U. S. Federal Census counted and lists 228. (1940- Federal Census- 90 Citizens.

The unusual placement of the “Pot Metal” PAGDIN grave marker, is it location between the two LOCKWOOD childrens headstone (which do not have a “surrounding wood or metal fence.”

Today, the easily removal metal plates, are both missing. Lost to time- or from “purposefully removal.”

This grave-site most possibly was used during the “Prohibition Years (1920-1933)” for the “transaction of alcoholic beverages.” Bodie was the perfect place to hid quantities of “Bootleg.”

Bodie was a remote, cold and had “warehouses” where bottled- alcoholic- beverages could be stored. The risk for Law Enforcement was minimal for coming to the un-accessible location. Because the road to Bodie was impassable much of the Winter and Spring months- the rain and snowstorms made and kept Bodie as a perfect place to store of “bootleg liquor.”

The Bodie Cemetery was also a very easy “Landmark” for Bootleggers - The White Oblique Garfield Monument stood tall, and recognizable to everyone entering Bodie proper, during the snow-covered in the Winter and sage-covered in the Summer months. It would not be an uncommon sight for an “outsider” to be visiting its Cemetery- especially paying respect at a child’s grave. Once acquiring “transaction instruction”- the “Outsider,” could make the necessary transaction of business and leave Bodie with the “Mislabeled Supplies” stored in the Warehouses.

Louisa May McIntyre- 1899

Bodie Cemetery grave- McINTYRE Family Plot- ( DRAPED STONE- anything draped means “Mourning.”)

APRIL 17, 1899

LOUISA MAY McINTYRE- Aged 3 months, 28 days- Died April 17, 1899.

DRAPED STONE- Anything draped means “mourning.” The “drape” can also be an allusion to the “veil” between this world and the next! The carved IVY VINES also give the meaning of “abiding lasting memory.”

The McIntrye Monument tells the story of “father and daughter” deaths. The death date of April 17, 1899- infant of 3 months, 28days- daughter Louisa May McIntyre. Three years later-(1902)- Duncan McIntyre died at 54 years of age- April 8, 1902.

~~Buried in the family-plot in WARDS CEMETERY- this “draped stone” is a reminder of the “harsh realities” of living in Bodie, and the risks the Miners took to have wives and children “winter” in Bodie. The freezing cold, lack of heat and isolated made it near impossible to sustain a “new-borns life.”

Louisa May McIntyre- Died April 17, 1899…. Age 3 months, 28 days.

Duncan McIntyre -Died April 8, 1902 Age 54 years

Buried in WARDS CEMETERY- Bodie, California

1894- Peter Noonan

PETER NOONAN- “Native of Ireland”- Aged 46 years- buried in the Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery.

PETER NOONAN

FEBRUARY . 25, 1848- JULY 10, 1894

“NATIVE OF IRELAND”

Peter Noonan's grave in the Bodie Cemetery serves as a poignant reminder of the town's rich and complex mining history. He was born in Ireland February 25, 1848. It is unknown his immigration date to the United States. What is known, is his passing away in Bodie, at 46 years of age on September 1, 1879.

His large Headstone is inscribed with a simple ,yet heartfelt remembrance, reflecting the deep respect he earned within the Bodie Miners’ Union. Noonan's existence, like that of many others who lived in Bodie, was marked by the danger and devastating consequences, that characterized the risks of working deep within the tunnels and shafts of the Bodie Mines.

Peter Noonan’s burial within the boundaries of the hillside Historic Cemetery, signifies a lasting connection to a past filled with both elusive dreams and significant struggles ,that played out amidst the often harsh and unforgiving realities of the Gold Rush era.

Eva and Martha Lockwood- 1882

Eva M. Lockwood- Aged 11 years, 5 months. “I sleep in Jesus blessed sleep” Daughter of J. Z. and A Lockwood.

~~~Eleven year old ,Eva Lockwood, daughter of J. Z. and A. lockwood succumbed to illness on March 12, 1882. Of importance is a month later- April 3, 1882 her three year old sister- Martha Lockwood died. They have matching- same style headstone- yet with differences in epitaphs .

~~Eva Lockwood, (11 and half year old daughter of J. Z. and A. Lockwood,) is laid to rest in the Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery. Marked by a poignant headstone, that reflects her life and the era in which she lived. The craftsmanship of her headstone reveals intricate detailing, characteristic of the time, while the weathered stone offers a glimpse into the transient nature of Bodie's Mining community. Martha's resting place serves as a lasting Memorial, illustrating both her individual story as a young girl, and the broader narrative of a her childhood years spent living in Bodie.

MARCH 12, 1892

Eva M

DAUGHTER OF J.Z. & A. LOCKWOOD

MARCH 12, 1892, AGE 11YRS, 1MOS., 2 DAYS

Martha B. Lockwood- Aged 3 years. 15 months- Died April 3, 1892. Daughter of J. Z. and A. Lockwood. “Safe in the Arms of Jesus”

APRIL 3, 1892 - Safe in the Arms of Jesus- MARTHA B LOCKWOOD- Aged 3 years 15 days.

~~~The Right Hand pointing up symbolizes the deceased has ascended into the Heavenly Realm.~~~

~~~The “Female Sleeve Cuff of her Blouse”- shows the era- young childs clothing of the day.

~~~The “leaves of ivy” (holding in her hand)- abiding memory, friendship, fidelity.

At three years of age, Martha Lockwood's life was tragically and abruptly cut short. Just a month after the untimely death of her beloved 11-year-old sister, Eva Lockwood. Both children’s death were a “heart-wrenching loss” that reverberated through the small, close-knit community of Bodie.

The Lockwood sisters, deeply bound by their childhood and innocence, faced the harsh and unforgiving realities of life in a isolated, mining town at 8, 350foot elevation, during a historical period fraught with Disease, Danger, and Uncertainty.

Martha, barely a toddler herself, and not-even of school-age, ultimately succumbed to the illness that swept through the settlement, serving as a “grim reminder” of the inherent vulnerabilities that accompanied the rapid and unchecked daily hardships of Bodie's young-in age population.

Their shared “resting place” in the Bodie Miners’ Union Cemetery, serves as a poignant testament to the fragility of life, and the enduring bonds of family, even in the face of overwhelming sorrow and heartbreak that life often brings.

Martha B

DAUGHTER OF J.Z. & A. LOCKWOOD

DIED APR. 3, 1892

AGE 3YEARS 15 DAYS

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

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.

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.

Mrs. & MOTHER tell “her” story…

MRS A. J. Johnson- MOTHER….known only by her “Married Identity.” Aged 77 years- Born 24 Feb. 1826- Died 25 Nov. 1905.

THE MARRIED WOMEN OF BODIE- buried as MRS. & MOTHER!!

~~~Women in the mining camp of Bodie were “Mrs”. In death it was of such importance- MOTHER, WIFE or MRS. was engraved on their tombstones.

~~~Married outside of Bodie, as Bodie went from a rogue “Mining Camp” to a small town with mining operations of significance,  “the married men”  starting making accommodations for their wives to travel, and accompany  them  to the isolated 8,700 feet elevation  locationed in Mono, County.

~~Small  520 square-foot, two room, “wood-sided cabins with one or two windows” were built to accommodate the miners.  Very sparse with  only a woodburning stove for heat. (No running water or inside plumbing. Outhouses- a walks distance from the “small cabin,” which were freezing cold.)

“The unheated structures” were not very comfortable or “habitable” for two people to “sustain during the freezing cold, windchill temperatures,” that were constant in Bodie. Winter days were  dark and short. Snow storms with blinding -cold-high winds meant “surviving by the stove!” The wood burning stove, which required cut and stacked 3-4 cords of wood. Constant tending to the “stove” and having stored “provisions” to cook, meant planning and organization. No running water, also meant water had to be delivered, and kept inside to keep from freezing. More time was spent inside, than outside- just maintaining a “daily survival.”

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!”