History Walk Continued

Although we saw quite a bit of Bodie during the last post, we really are only about halfway through all that we saw on our afternoon visit.  There is quite a bit more of Bodie that remained to be seen that we didn’t get to, but I like to think we hit the highlights to truly get a feel of what it may have been like to live in this town, many years ago!

This poor building, propped up by pole you see on the left side of this image is the Swasey Hotel.  Horace F. Swasey was a Nevada rancher who bought this 2-story hotel in 1894.  In later years, it also was a clothing store and a casino.  What tales the walls of this place could tell…..as long as it remains upright!

The Miners Union Hall is the only building in Bodie that people can enter, primarily because it now serves as the Bodie Museum.  It was built in 1878, and was central to the social life that existed here in Bodie.  It not only was the meeting place for the union members (mining), religious services, balls, masquerade partied, school recitals and annual Christmas parties also happened within these walls.  

Bodie had several fraternal societies, and one of them was lodged in this building.  The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge No. 279 used the second floor (notice how access to the second floor was from the outside of the main building – photo on the right).  The first floor was originally used by Henry Ward for his undertaking/furniture business, rather an odd mix of businesses, I thought!  It was later used by the Bodie Athletic Club, and some of the exercise equipment is still there (left photo).

Next to the IOOF Hall is the DeChambeau Hotel.  Originally, the post office was in this building in 1879.  The upstairs served as Grandma Johnson’s rooming house, and Jeff and I were quite intrigued by the upper windows (photo below), and we felt like someone could be up there, checking out who might have entered the post office, once upon a time.  In later years, it became the DeChambeau Hotel, and in Bodie’s final years, it was a bar and café.

Just down from the Hotel, a murder occurred at this site.  On January 14, 1881, a miner, Thomas Treloar was shot and killed here.  It was a bit of a Peyton Place situation – Thomas was shot by Joseph DeRoche, who was romantically involved with Thomas’ wife.  He shot Thomas as he left a dance at the Miner’s Union Hall, just up the street.  DeRoche was arrested and escaped a few hours later.  A posse recaptured him 2 days later and he was brought to the Bodie Jail (which is no longer standing). However, after midnight, a vigilante committee, known as “601”, took DeRoche from his jail cell and hanged him at this site.  Wow!  Looks rather non-descript, but quite a historical event happened there!

Across the street from the Boone Store and Warehouse, sits this building, the Wheaton and Luhrs building.  It was a store in the 1880’s.  After Luhrs died, a sign called it the “Bodie Store”.  Then, J.S.Cain bought it and it became a land office.  It then became offices for the hydroelectric company that transmitted electricity to the town from Lundy Canyon.  Final, after the Clinton-West Company arrived in the 1920’s, the building finally became a hotel/boarding house.  Although Josie Perl was hired to be the cook for the hotel/boarding house, she continued mining on the side!

When I looked in the front door and window, the sign for the Bodie Hotel, the switchboard, and desk with small cubbyholes for any messages and mail that might arrive.  I love looking at these snippets of everyday life, and they continued along the side of the building.

In the windows along the side of the building, I saw a pool table, and imagined the guests/residents relaxing there in the evenings.  Other windows gave me a look into what I thought might be a pantry area, and then a kitchen, where Josie worked her cooking magic!

Just down the street from the Wheaton and Luhrs building is the Schoolhouse.  However, this building was originally the Bon Ton Lodging House.  It became the school after the first school was supposedly burned down by an early-day juvenile delinquent.  In 1879 – 1880, the school saw its highest enrollment of 615 students.  This school closed in 1942.  Of course, I had to look in the windows of the school!

Again, I felt like the children who were in the classroom might simply be out for recess, except, of course, for all the dust!!  Although there are 3 images, this seemed to be one large room, with the organ off to the left in the room (center photo), student desks in the center of the room (upper right photo), and the teacher’s desk (lower left photo).  The photo with the student desks also has a globe in the very front of the image.  It was very faded and dusty, sitting in the direct sunlight, but I can’t even image how out of date it might be!

This building is the Firehouse, and was actually rebuilt in 1930 by the California Conservation Corps.  Over the years, two of the biggest fires were in July, 1892 and June, 1932.  Again, we were able to look inside the firehouse (image below)  and saw some of the old equipment – a fire wagon (left photo) and a stretcher and lanterns (right photo).

Across from the Firehouse is the Lottie and Eli John House.  They moved to Bodie in 1883, and their successful mining investments allowed them to purchase houses and several saloons in Bodie.  From 1932 – 1942, the Post Office was located in this building.

On our way out of town and back up the hill toward our car, the Bodie cemetery was off to the left.  We didn’t walk up the hill to the cemetery, mainly due to the fact that it was later in the afternoon and it was getting rather chilly up in the Sierra Nevada’s!!  

Enjoy!