Bodie (Calif.) Collection: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Mitchell W. K. Toda, January 17, 2003 and revised by Katrina Denman, March 10, 2011.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
© 2011
The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: Bodie (Calif.) Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1879-1963
Bulk dates: 1879-1910
Collection Number: mssBodie collection
Extent: 61 items. 1 box.
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This small collection consists mostly of court and financial records from the mining town of Bodie, California, chiefly dating from 1879 to 1910, as well as some later articles and notes with information on Bodie's history. Of particular interest are the minutes from meetings of the Degree of Honor of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. Bodie (Calif.) Collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Marion Parks Patridge, August 16, 1937, purchase from, Dawson's Book Shop, December 26, 1961 and gift of Roy P. McLaughlin, May 1963.

Biographical Note

Bodie, California, was named after William S. Bodey who discovered placer gold there in 1859. The first mill was established in 1861 and the town that once consisted of 20 miners eventually grew to an estimated 10,000 inhabitants by 1879. However by 1882 the boom was over and the town started to decline as many of the mines had already paid out and many of the mining companies went bankrupt. Major fires in 1892 and 1932 destroyed much of the business district in town and by the 1940s Bodie had become a ghost town. In 1964 Bodie was made into a California State Park.

Scope and Content

This collection consists mostly of court and financial records from Bodie as well as some later articles and notes with information on Bodie's history. Of particular interest are the minutes from meetings of the Degree of Honor of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in one box and six series, each arranged chronologically:
  • 1. Correspondence.
  • 2. Court records.
  • 3. Financial records.
  • 4. Club and professional records.
  • 5. Notes and articles.
  • 6. Newspapers and ephemera.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Osborne, Henry Zenas, 1848-1923.
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Grand Lodge of California -- Archives.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Clubs -- California -- Bodie.
Ghost towns -- California -- History -- Sources.
Mining camps -- California.
Bodie (Calif.) -- History -- Sources.
California -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.

Forms/Genres

Articles -- California -- 20th century.
Financial records -- California -- Bodie.
Business records -- California -- Bodie.
Judicial records -- California -- Bodie.
Minutes -- California -- Bodie.
Notes -- California -- 20th century.


Box 1

mssBodie collection

 

Correspondence

 

1898 Oct. 27. Cal. Anti-Coloric Company to A. Maestretti. San Francisco, Calif.

 

1910 Nov. 15. D. De Bernardi & Co. to A. Maestretti. San Francisco, Calif.

 

1910 Nov. 19. Engelbright, William Fellows to A. Maestretti. Nevada City, Calif.

 

1962 May 29. Newell, Chester H. to Andrew J. Copp. San Francisco, Calif.

 

1963 Mar. 27. Wirth, Raymond L. to Roy McLaughlin. South Pasadena, Calif.

 

Court records

 

1897-1901. Affidavits against residents. Bodie, Calif. (2 items)

 

1898-1901. Land indentures. Bodie, Calif. (2 items)

 

1899 June 29. Arrest warrant for “Bodie Joe, an Indian.” Bodie, Calif.

 

1899-1900. Court summons. Bodie, Calif. (2 items)

 

1901 Jan. 30. Writ of attachment in O’Brien vs. Lopez. Bodie, Calif.

 

1907 Mar. 8. Criminal complaint against James Brown. Nye County, Nev.

 

Financial records

 

1879 Feb. 14-18. Telegraphs to Bodie Bank. San Francisco, Calif. (3 items)

 

1879-1880. Bank receipts. Bodie, Calif. (6 items)

 

1898 Sep. 10. Phoenix Insurance Company of London. Transfer of insurance title from P.J. Conway to J.M. Langrell. Bodie, Calif.

 

1900. Mono County (Calif.). Notice to tax payers. Bodie, Calif.

 

1908 July 6-22. Bodie and Lundy Stage Line. Bills no.6-22. Bodie, Calif. (17 items)

 

1910-1911. Old Sawdust Corner. Receipts. Bodie, Calif. (2 items)

 

Club and professional records

 

1879 May 29. Taylor, R.B. Application to join the International Order of Odd Fellows. Bodie, Calif.

 

1893-1899. Records of the elections of officers in the Hook and Ladder Co. No.1. Bodie, Calif. (5 items)

 

1906-1912. McDonnell, Alice. Minutes from the meetings of the Degree of Honor of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Bodie, Calif. Bound volume.

 

Articles and notes

 

1907 June 22. McLaughlin, Roy P. Geology of the Bodie District, Calif.

 

1924 Oct. 28. Smith, Grant H. Bodie: the last of the old-time mining camps. San Francisco, Calif.

 

1956 Oct. 30-Nov. 19. Gignoux, Fran S. Notes on Bodie. San Gabriel, Calif.

 

1968 May 14. McLaughlin, Roy P. Biography of Henry Z. Osborne. South Pasadena, Calif.

 

Newspapers and ephemera

 

Approximately 1920. Bird’s eye view of Bodie (postcard).

 

1957-1961. Newspaper clippings on Bodie, Calif. (2 items) Undated.

 

Ephemera. (3 items)