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<\/p>\nA spooky ghost town remains untouched since the days cowboys ran riot, becoming a real-life West World.<\/p>\n
Bodie in California in the US is a place trapped in time, somewhere along the long road of \u201carrested decay\u201d \u2013 a slowing or even halt of the process that sees man-made things return to nature. Nestled into the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada it became a State Historic Park in 1962 after years of rot and deterioration. <\/p>\n
Once Bodie was a bustling gold mining town, between the years 1860 to 1941 its mines are thought to have produced what would have been the equivalent of $85million (\u00a368m) in 2021. The big money moving around the town gave it and its mile-long main road a colourful civic life. <\/p>\n
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The Bodie website says: \u201cAt one time there was reported to be 65 saloons in town. Among the saloons were numerous brothels and \u2018houses of ill repute\u2019, gambling halls and opium dens \u2013 an entertainment outlet for everyone.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOn a daily basis miners would emerge from the mills and head for the bars and the red light district to spend their earnings. The mixture of money, gold and alcohol would sometimes prove fatal. Newspapers reported that townspeople would ask in the mornings \u2018Have we a man for breakfast?\u2019 Meaning \u2018Did anyone get killed last night?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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The town\u2019s red light district was popular with one, unconfirmed rumour about the time centred on prostitute Rosa May, who like Florence Nightingale came to help the men of the town when an epidemic hit it. <\/p>\n
Things started to decline around 1880 as miners were lured away by other booms taking place in other parts of the country and the nature of Bodie changed to a more family-first area. A Methodist church was built, but it wasn\u2019t enough to keep the community going and in 1912 the final edition of its paper was printed. The last mine closed 30 years later in 1942. <\/p>\n
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Today only part of the town, roughly 110 structures, are still standing but visitors are able to walk through the once-busy streets and look in the houses still stocked with goods, although removing anything is against the rules of the park.<\/p>\n
A blurb on the California State Parks website reads: "Bodie is a ghost town. Today it looks much the same as it did over 50 years ago when the last residents left. To preserve the ghost town atmosphere, there are no commercial facilities at Bodie, such as food or gasoline. There is a bookstore inside the museum where you may also inquire about daily tours."<\/p>\n
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Reviews online have seen people heap praise on the park. "This is a truly amazing ghost town and well worth the drive," one person said. "This is a fascinating glimpse into the Gold Rush of 140 years ago. As you approach the Bodie, the road just disappears and you are on a gravel \/ rock track," wrote another. <\/p>\n
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