Bodie (Calif.) Collection, 1879-1963, bulk 1879-1910

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Summary

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.
Extent:
61 items. 1 box.
Language:
English.

Background

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.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
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.
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.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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