20 Eerie Photos From Bodie, California’s Abandoned Gold Town

To this day the concept of the gold rush seems rather outlandish. To think that people from all over the country flocked to the one area of the country that was still relatively desolate and undeveloped in the hopes of striking it big by getting their hands on a whole lot of gold. And the towns that were set up to support this industry almost acted like casinos. Sucking up whatever the miner's made, yet still giving them enough hope that one day they will find that head sized nugget and be able to call it a day.

They were, and certainly are now, towns of broken dreams, lost hope and a period of prosperity that we will only ever get to understand from the history books. But the collection of photos we have gathered today from one of those towns, Bodie, CA, tells at least part of these miner's stories. The hotels they stayed at while in town, the clubs they attended to blow off steam and the religious establishments where they prayed they would find their fortune.

01

via vildrik
Advertisement
Disused places of religious worship are especially interesting when looking over old towns. You can just feel the community that used to live and congregate here. You know what they would have wished for (a gold nugget the size of their head) and you get a feel for what it might have been like to live like them.
02

via vildrik
03

via vildrik
04

via vildrik
Advertisement
Honestly, quite the peculiar combination of things, between the advertisement for refreshments and the pull up bar and Olympic rings, this looks like a cross between a working men’s club and a gym. Though it is not unimaginable that after a day down in the gold mines, workers would have come to blow off a little steam with a drink and a pull-up contest.
05

via vildrik
06

via vildrik
07

via vildrik
Advertisement
08

via vildrik
09

via vildrik
10

via vildrik
Advertisement
11

via vildrik
12

via vildrik
13

via vildrik
Advertisement
14

via vildrik
15

via vildrik
16

via vildrik
Advertisement
17

via vildrik
18

via vildrik
19

via vildrik
Advertisement
20

via vildrik