Little Bodie & a Blinding Explosion

If you are interested in ghost towns, there is a good chance you have been to Bodie. But have you been to Little Bodie? Two miles south of the Bodie turnoff is an ECV historical marker on the east side of the highway. Two miles east of the marker (4-wheel drive) are the ruins of Little Bodie. While they aren’t nearly as scenic as the state park, it is a mostly forgotten piece of Bodie’s history.

Little Bodie Mining Company

C. W. Neely and George D. Wolf (DeWolf in some articles) owned the Little Bodie Mining Company. Under Wolf’s management, they established a mining camp including a bunkhouse for five employees, a shop, and a pump house. In September of 1938, the company added a jig to the mill to increase processing speed.

Little Bodie’s workings were 160 feet deep, with the vein improving as it went. A pilot mill treated twenty-five tons of gold ore a day at the Bradshaw-Munn claims on Virginia Creek. Little Bodie was promising, and the company was considering a larger mill.

Papers reported on November 17, 1938, that Little Bodie shut down for a few days but expected to restart and continue through the winter. Indeed, on November 25, the papers reported that Little Bodie’s mines were making good progress through the soft ore. They processed forty tons of ore per day, with some valued as high as $60 a ton.

In the fall of 1938, plans were to continue through the winter. Only weeks later, Wolf and his wife were in Bridgeport, and Little Bodie closed for the winter.

Little Bodie, along with Silverado and May Lundy, operated intermittently between 1939 and 1940. While primarily a gold mine, with the onset of World War II, 1940, the area’s mines also explored interests in lead-silver, quicksilver, and tungsten.

On October 8, 1942, the War Production Board issued L-208, mandating the closure of all nonessential gold mines in the United States.

Explosion

In November 1938, Little Bodie machinist R.J. Black dropped metallic soda into water. The resulting explosion severely burned his eyes. Dr. William Russle treated Black at the Mono County Hospital. His injuries exceeded the care available locally, and Black was sent to Los Angeles for treatment. While the burns were deep, Dr. Russle believed Black would regain his vision.

Little Bodie Today

Little Bodie was never a great producer like its namesake. Mill foundations cover the top of the hill alongside a mine shaft. ECV erected a monument on the highway, two miles south of the Bodie turnoff.

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References

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• Inyo Independent and Owens Valley Progress Citizen Fri, Nov 25, 1938
• Mindat: Little Bodie
• Mono Herald and Bridgeport Chronicle-Union Thu, Nov 10, 1938
• Mono Herald and Bridgeport Chronicle-Union Thu, Nov 17, 1938
• Mono Herald and Bridgeport Chronicle-Union Thu, Dec 8, 1938
• Owens Valley Progress CitizenFri, Jun 21, 1940
• The Sacramento Bee Tue, Sep 20, 1938
• Western Mining History: Little Bodie Mining Company

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