Lying in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, buried beneath feet of snow lies an eerie ghost town that almost 10,000 people once called home. Buildings and the contents inside stand frozen in time, exactly as they were when the last residents left the town of Bodie in California . The town was named after a prospector from Poughkeepsie, New York , who went to California where he struck gold - though it's unclear whether his first name was William, Waterman or Wakeman, he was known as WS Bodey.
According to the stories, four prospectors discovered gold in 1859 in the desert valley near Mono Lake. Among them was WS Bodey, who ended up freezing to death that winter - prompting survivors to name the area after him, though as the name was passed along the spelling was changed to Bodie. READ MORE: Inside 13 ghost towns left to slowly rot away across US as nature reclaims the land Thousands of people flock to the mining town each summer for a glimpse into the past ( Image: Getty Images) In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed pay dirt, sparking the interest of those from the big cities with all the money.
Spotting the potential of the remote area, they invested in infrastructure, luring in a flood of miners along with those who were "mining the miners" with restaurants, hardware stores, opium dens and a red-light district. The town, which was home to a population of 6,000 to 10,000 at its peak in 1879-1880, had nine stamp mills, 200 restaurants and 65 saloons. In true 'Wild West' fashion, alterca.