Silver City Ghost Town

The Silver City Ghost Town is located in Bodfish, California.  It's not officially a "ghost town", but rather a museum of historical buildings that were trailered to this site from abandoned mining camps.  We spent an enjoyable morning here wandering in and out of the decayed old buildings.  The owners have done an excellent job amassing antiques and mining relics from the gold rush that occurred in this area back in the 1850's.  There are two extensive antique shops on site, as well, that were well-stocked and reasonably priced.  I bought two Royal Couldon dessert plates from the 1890's and three tintype photos of women in period dresses for Mimi.

History comes alive here.  There are descriptions nailed to most of the buildings.  We were reminded constantly how miserable life was back then.  To cover the distance from the Kern Valley to Bakersfield on a stage coach, for instance, took an entire day.  Today it takes an hour! 

After the bunk houses came the saloons and the dance halls.  Lawlessness led to the inevitable marshalls moving in and jail houses being built  (They were always filled!).  We read an interesting story about a gunfighter named Newt Walker.  After shooting two men, he was arrested for their murder.  During the trial he claimed it was self-defense and the prosecutor laughed.  No one could whip around that fast.  Walker claimed he heard a pistol click behind him as he was walking down the street, turned and shot both men dead.  The judge actually let him prove it in court.   When he re-enacted what happened (with an unloaded gun, of course), the jury saw his faster than lightening reflexes and he was acquitted on the spot.

There are about twenty buildings to explore.  There's a barber shop, a post office, a hotel and Wells Fargo office.  All of them were original buildings from the towns of Keyesville, Whiskey Flat, Claraville and Hot Springs, although some of them were renamed to make up the "illusion" of a town.  The picks, shovels, mining stamps and the interior of a miner's cabin were particularly interesting to me because I hadn't seen these relics before.  I learned so much that day!  And that's why I love to travel.

Can you see the ghost in the window?