The story goes that a girl whose family moved from San Francisco to Bodie wrote either "Good, by God, I'm going to Bodie" or "Goodbye God, I'm going to Bodie"; the town had that kind of reputation. Bodie was born in grammatical confusion. It was named after Waterman S. Body, also known as William S.Bodey, and the town's spelling change was said to be due to an illiterate sign painter. At its peak in 1879 its reputation was second to none for wickedness, outlaws, and "the worst climate out of doors". Every other building on the mile-long main street was a saloon of which there were 65. But the boom times lasted for only 4 years and by 1882 Bodie was in decline. The last residents finally left in the 1950's, and since then it's been preserved in a state of "arrested decay". The town was abandoned so abruptly that thousands of belongings were left behind. You peer through a window and it's as if you've stepped into the Wild West past...

A great website for those interested in learning more about Bodie is http://www.bodie.com .