American Folk Figure. A prospector and namesake of Bodie, California, he was a Dutchman from New York who discovered gold near Bridgeport in Mono County, California on July 20, 1859. That winter while returning with supplies he died in a snowstorm and never saw the town that took on his name. Bodey which was misspelled by a sign painter as “Bodie” stuck as the town name. Bodie became an instant boomtown with some huge gold strikes. At one point the town had over 10,000 residents and over 2,000 buildings. By 1882 most of the big strikes were history and folks began to go elsewhere. Fire destroyed much of Bodie in 1892 and again in 1932. Today Bodie is one of the largest and best-preserved ghost towns in the West.
American Folk Figure. A prospector and namesake of Bodie, California, he was a Dutchman from New York who discovered gold near Bridgeport in Mono County, California on July 20, 1859. That winter while returning with supplies he died in a snowstorm and never saw the town that took on his name. Bodey which was misspelled by a sign painter as “Bodie” stuck as the town name. Bodie became an instant boomtown with some huge gold strikes. At one point the town had over 10,000 residents and over 2,000 buildings. By 1882 most of the big strikes were history and folks began to go elsewhere. Fire destroyed much of Bodie in 1892 and again in 1932. Today Bodie is one of the largest and best-preserved ghost towns in the West.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
Inscription
Buried here are the mortal remains of
Waterman S. Bodey
1814-1859
Native of Poughkeepsie, New York
Near here July 20, 1859 Bodey along with his partner and burro struck gold. Four months later returning with supplies he lost his life in a blinding snow storm. This small, sturdy, indomitable man left Bodie to posterity never knowing it's importance.
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See more Bodey memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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