Bodie is a genuine California gold mining ghost town. About 5% of the buildings that were present in the 1880's still remain. Today it stands as time, fire and the elements have left it. Bodie was designated a state historic park in 1962 and is maintained in a state of "arrested decay". It was named for Waterman S. Body (also called William S. Bodey) who discovered gold in the area in 1859. In 1879, the population of Bodie was about 10,000 and was a rough, tough, wicked, wild-west town.