Huntington Library, Manuscript Collections

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

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

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.
Preferred citation:

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

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

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Clubs -- California -- Bodie.
Ghost towns -- California -- History -- Sources.
Mining camps -- California.
Articles -- California -- 20th century.
Financial records -- California -- Bodie.
Business records -- California -- Bodie.
Judicial records -- California -- Bodie.
Minutes -- California -- Bodie.
Notes -- California -- 20th century.

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Terms of access:

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.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Website
mssBodie collection
Containers:
Box 1
Contents
Correspondence
Contents
Cal. Anti-Coloric Company to A. Maestretti. San Francisco, Calif., 1898 Oct. 27.
D. De Bernardi & Co. to A. Maestretti. San Francisco, Calif., 1910 Nov. 15.
Engelbright, William Fellows to A. Maestretti. Nevada City, Calif., 1910 Nov. 19.
Newell, Chester H. to Andrew J. Copp. San Francisco, Calif., 1962 May 29.
Wirth, Raymond L. to Roy McLaughlin. South Pasadena, Calif., 1963 Mar. 27.
Court records
Contents
Affidavits against residents. Bodie, Calif. (2 items), 1897-1901.
Land indentures. Bodie, Calif. (2 items), 1898-1901.
Arrest warrant for “Bodie Joe, an Indian.” Bodie, Calif., 1899 June 29.
Court summons. Bodie, Calif. (2 items), 1899-1900.
Writ of attachment in O’Brien vs. Lopez. Bodie, Calif., 1901 Jan. 30.
Criminal complaint against James Brown. Nye County, Nev., 1907 Mar. 8.
Financial records
Contents
Telegraphs to Bodie Bank. San Francisco, Calif. (3 items), 1879 Feb. 14-18.
Bank receipts. Bodie, Calif. (6 items), 1879-1880.
Phoenix Insurance Company of London. Transfer of insurance title from P.J. Conway to J.M. Langrell. Bodie, Calif., 1898 Sep. 10.
Mono County (Calif.). Notice to tax payers. Bodie, Calif., 1900.
Bodie and Lundy Stage Line. Bills no.6-22. Bodie, Calif. (17 items), 1908 July 6-22.
Old Sawdust Corner. Receipts. Bodie, Calif. (2 items), 1910-1911.
Club and professional records
Contents
Taylor, R.B. Application to join the International Order of Odd Fellows. Bodie, Calif., 1879 May 29.
Records of the elections of officers in the Hook and Ladder Co. No.1. Bodie, Calif. (5 items), 1893-1899.
McDonnell, Alice. Minutes from the meetings of the Degree of Honor of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Bodie, Calif. Bound volume., 1906-1912.
Articles and notes
Contents
McLaughlin, Roy P. Geology of the Bodie District, Calif., 1907 June 22.
Smith, Grant H. Bodie: the last of the old-time mining camps. San Francisco, Calif., 1924 Oct. 28.
Gignoux, Fran S. Notes on Bodie. San Gabriel, Calif., 1956 Oct. 30-Nov. 19.
McLaughlin, Roy P. Biography of Henry Z. Osborne. South Pasadena, Calif., 1968 May 14.
Newspapers and ephemera
Contents
Bird’s eye view of Bodie (postcard)., Approximately 1920.
Newspaper clippings on Bodie, Calif. (2 items) Undated., 1957-1961.
Ephemera. (3 items)