Bodie ghost town is located in California off Highway 395. The reason that the town still stands today is largely due to James Stuart Cain. Cain moved to Bodie in 1879. He was only 25 but quickly made his fortune by investing in lumber, mining, freighting and banking. He brought lumber across Mono Lake, which helped build the town properties and mines.
Later, he would be the owner of the town bank as well as the Standard Mill. Cain and his family would own most of the town by the time he passed away in 1938. He and his family were dedicated to preserving the town, hiring security to guard it and caretakers to maintain the vacant buildings.
In 1962, the family gave the ghost town to the State of California. It is run by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. It is preserved in a state of “arrested decay” so that it looks exactly the same as it did during its heyday period. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The state legislature created the Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.
Historical Marker Inscription
Pioneer banker and mining man born in 1854 and moved to Carson City, Nevada, in 1875. Shortly thereafter he and Martha D. Wells of nearby Genoa were married and moved to Bodie where he engaged in lumber, freighting, banking, and mining operations. At one time he owned Mono County’s only bank. In 1938 Mr. Cain passed away at 84 years of age. Through his faith and efforts Bodie remains today.
Dedicated September 12, 1964.
Location
38° 12’ 47.892” N, 119° 0’ 42.430” W
Main St, Bridgeport, CA 93517, United States
Historical Markers of the World 