In 1876, the discovery of gold ore transformed this isolated mining camp into a boomtown with 2,000 buildings and about 7,000 inhabitants. The gray buildings housed one of the stamp mills which produced gold bullion that was shipped to the Mint in San Francisco. In its heyday, the Bodie mines produced gold valued at $34 million but the ore was depleted by the 1890s. The mines closed and the population dwindled. By 1915, Bodie was known as a gold rush ghost town. Population: 120.
