BG279: Abandoned House & Car at (Now Gone) Mill Town of Bradwood, OR – April 1981.

Before the Restoration:

This restoration shows an abandoned residence & car, one of the last buildings that remained standing in the once-thriving company town of Bradwood, Oregon as seen in April 1981.

The town was the company town of the Bradley-Woodward Lumber Company, and was incorporated in July 1930. It’s name was a derivative of the company name. Shortly after the mill began operations, work began on creating the town.

Bradwood was a location on the Columbia River situated between the towns of Knappa & Wauna, Oregon, about 22 miles east of Astoria.

With a shipping port and served by the SP&S railroad, Bradwood became the terminus for the company’s private railroad bringing down logs felled on Nicolai Mountain, milling them at the company mill & shipping finished products out by ship & rail. Lumber from the mill was used to construct the houses & businesses that were built to accommodate the millworkers & their families.

The mill and town thrived during the depression years and throughout World War II but afterward the once abundant timber stands dwindled and the mill ceased operations of it’s privately owned logging railroad. The mill continued on in operations with logs brought in by trucks & purchased log rafts for awhile. At some point, the entire operation was sold to Pope & Talbot Co.

In June 1962 the decision was made to close down the mill and a year later, on June 25th, 1963 the mill & entire town was sold at auction into private hands. Some of the buildings were moved or deconstructed but the rest were simply abandoned.

A major fire in 1965 destroyed the mill & much of the remaining buildings, and another fire in 1984 took care of what buildings remained including the house pictured here.

Today, the property is privately held, no structures or roads remain, and there is no evidence that the little community of Bradwood ever existed. In the mid-2000s, the site was considered for a proposed terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG). Protests & bankruptcies however derailed that plan and today the site is unimproved with posted “No Trespassing” signs.

BG278: Abandoned General Store at now gone Bradwood, Oregon – April 1981.

Before the Restoration:

This restoration shows the Bradwood Store, one of the last buildings that remained standing in the once-thriving company town of Bradwood, Oregon as seen in April 1981.

The town was the company town of the Bradley-Woodward Lumber Company, incorporated in July 1930. It’s name was a derivative of the company name. Shortly after the mill began operations, work began on creating the town.

Bradwood was a location on the Columbia River situated between the towns of Knappa & Wauna, Oregon, about 22 miles east of Astoria.

With a shipping port and served by the SP&S railroad, Bradwood became the terminus for the company’s private railroad bringing down logs felled on Nicolai Mountain, milling them at the company mill & shipping finished products out by ship & rail. Lumber from the mill was used to construct the houses & businesses that were built to accommodate the millworkers & their families.

The mill and town thrived during the depression years and throughout World War II but afterward the once abundant timber stands dwindled and the mill ceased operations of it’s privately owned railroad. The mill continued on in operations with logs brought in by trucks & purchased log rafts for awhile. At some point, the operation was sold to Pope & Talbot Co.

In June 1962 a decision was made to close down the mill and a year later, on June 25th, 1963 the mill & entire town was sold at auction into private hands. Some of the buildings were moved or deconstructed but the rest were abandoned.

A major fire in 1965 destroyed the mill & much of the remaining buildings, and another fire in 1984 took care of what buildings remained including the Bradwood Store.

Today, the property is privately held, no structures or roads remain, and there is no evidence that the little town of Bradwood ever existed. In the mid-2000s, the site was considered for a proposed terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG). Protests & bankruptcies however derailed that plan and today the site is unimproved with posted “No Trespassing” signs.

GT036: Swasey (or Swazey) Hotel Building in the Ghost Town of Bodie, CA – Aug. 1952.

Before the Restoration:

This is the Swasey (or Swazey) Hotel on Main St. in the ghost town of Bodie, California as seen in 1952. It was built in 1894, by Nevada rancher Horace F. Swasey two years after Bodie suffered it’s first devastating fire. In it’s life, the building served as a hotel, casino & clothing store. Known as Bodie’s chief “leaning building” it was propped up on one side for many years and still stands today in the same condition. To the rear left of the photo is part of the schoolhouse building.

Bodie came into being when a small group of prospectors discovered gold in the hills above the town in 1859. The prospector the town was named after, W.S. Bodey, died in a blizzard the following year never seeing the emergence of the town that would be named for him.

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5,000–7,000 people and rode it’s boomtown status into the late 1880’s. Gold bullion from the town’s nine stamp mills was shipped to Carson City, Nevada, by way of Aurora, Wellington and Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by armed guards and after the bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint there, or sent by rail to the mint in San Francisco.

In it’s heyday, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners’ and mechanics’ union, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.

The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious toward the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich-quick, single miners who came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, and Bodie developed into a family-oriented community.

In 1882 residents built the Methodist Church (which still stands, left center of photo) and the Roman Catholic Church (burned in 1932). Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881, Bodie’s ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. Also in 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built called the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.

A devestating fire in 1892 destroyed a large section of the town core. Though the mining still continued to prosper, the population had significantly declined further & the town continued to mirror that through the early 19 teens. The towns last newspaper ceased production in 1912, the Standard Consolidated Mill (center-middle in the photo) closed in 1913 & in 1917, the railway was abandoned & tracks taken up. Though families still resided in town, & several mills still operated, Bodie was declared a “ghost town” in 1915. Despite this designation & a subsequent fire in town in 1932, Bodie still maintained a post office & mill until 1942 when the last mill closed & the town was essentially deserted.

James Cain, President of Southern Consolidated Mining Co., started purchasing the bank, lots, buildings & most of the available property around town during the early 1900 decline, believing the town would experience a resurgence. The town never saw that resurgence & after the 1932 fire & further decline, Cain began hiring some of the last residents as caretakers to protect and maintain the remaining buildings.

In 1961, the town of Bodie was placed on the National Historic Register and in 1962, the State of California purchased the land & buildings from the Cain family and has maintained it as California’s Smallest State Historical Park and in a state or “arrested decay,” meaning that the existing buildings will be maintained as they were but with no improvements.

Visitors to Bodie can visit the buildings and see how they were left when the last residents left over a half century ago. It is considered the best existing example of a frontier mining town today.

GT014: Partial Carriage Frame in Shed at Ghost Town of Bodie, CA – June 1962.

Before the Restoration:

This restoration from a damaged slide shows an image of a long-abandoned partial carriage frame tucked in a shed opposite dilapidated houses in the ghost town of Bodie, CA as seen in June 1962.

Bodie came into being when a small group of prospectors discovered gold in the hills above the town in 1859. The prospector the town was named after, W.S. Bodey, died in a blizzard the following year never seeing the emergence of the town that would be named for him.

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5,000–7,000 people and rode it’s boomtown status into the late 1880’s. Gold & Silver bullion from the town’s nine stamp mills was shipped to Carson City, Nevada, by way of Aurora, Wellington and Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by armed guards and after the bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint there, or sent by rail to the mint in San Francisco.

In it’s heyday, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners’ and mechanics’ union, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.

The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious toward the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich-quick, single miners who came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, and Bodie developed into a family-oriented community.

In 1882 residents built the Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church (burned in 1932). Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881, Bodie’s ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. Also in 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built called the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.

A devastating fire in 1892 destroyed a large section of the town core. Though the mining still continued to prosper, the population had significantly declined further & the town continued to mirror that through the early 19 teens. The towns last newspaper ceased production in 1912, the Standard Consolidated Mill closed in 1913 & in 1917, the railway was abandoned & tracks taken up. Though families still resided in town, & several mills still operated, Bodie was declared a “ghost town” in 1915. Despite this designation & a subsequent fire in town in 1932, Bodie still maintained a post office & mill until 1942 when the last mill closed & the town was essentially deserted.

James Cain, President of Southern Consolidated Mining Co., started purchasing the bank, lots, buildings & most of the available property around town during the early 1900 decline, believing the town would experience a resurgence. The town never saw that resurgence & after the 1932 fire & further decline, Cain began hiring some of the last residents as caretakers to protect and maintain the remaining buildings.

In 1961, the town of Bodie was placed on the National Historic Register and in 1962, the State of California purchased the land & buildings from the Cain family and has maintained it as California’s Smallest State Historical Park and in a state or “arrested decay,” meaning that the existing buildings will be maintained as they were but with no improvements.

Visitors to Bodie can visit the buildings and see how they were left when the last residents left over a half century ago. It is considered the best existing example of a frontier mining town today.

BG227: C.B. Cavagnaro General Merchandise Buildings in Old Gold-Mining Town of Hornitos, CA – 1946.

Before the Restoration:

Shown in this restoration is the General Merchandise buildings of Carlo B. Cavagnaro in Hornitos, California as seen in 1946.

The town of Hornitas, located in Mariposa County, began life as an unnamed settlement for Mexican miners in 1848. As the gold rush began in 1849, many mining towns popped up in the area and one in particular, Quartzburg, located about two miles away, started evicting their “bad actors” to the Mexican settlement, turning the small camp into a rough community. The “town” was named “Hornitas,” Spanish for “Little Ovens,” for the many old Mexican stone graves or tombs built in the shape of little square bake ovens and set on top of the ground.

The area thru the 1850’s, despite it’s collection of gamblers, thieves, prostitutes, gunfighters and rough & lawless reputation, became one the county’s most prosperous towns. Wells Fargo established an office in 1852 to handle the movement of the huge amounts of gold that were produced by the mines. A post office was established in 1856, the same year that Domingo Ghiradelli came & established a general supply store to serve gold miners and perfected his chocolate recipes selling his Ghiradelli Chocolates along with his other goods in Hornitas for three years before selling the store & moving to San Francisco, establishing his company that is still in production today.

When the placer mining in Quartzburg ran out, the more respectable citizens of the town relocated to Hornitas & the town was renamed “Hornitos” in 1877.

During its heyday, Hornitos is said to have had a population of around 15,000. The town had 4 hotels, 6 fraternal lodges and organizations, a post office, 6 general merchandise stores, a Wells Fargo Express, and several saloons and fandango halls. Many of the fandangos were built underground and lined the road leading to the plaza. These subterranean saloons were all connected by doors so patrons could roam from one to another without the inconvenience of having go outside, where they might be seen. Noted California & Mexican outlaw Joaquin Murrietta frequented the town often & had a hideout nearby.

Though the town had settled down from it’s violent early days, with the decline of the gold mining, the town declined as well. Miners moved on for richer claims, townspeople moved to bigger towns & businesses in the town closed. By the 1890’s, the towns population had been significantly reduced but still hung on serving the nearby livestock ranches & farms. By the 1930’s the once booming town’s population dwindled to about 60 which it still averages to today.

Many of the buildings of the 1870’s and earlier Hornitos have been lost but a few still remain, such as the jail, Pacific Saloon, part of the Ghiradelli building & C.B. Cavagnaro’s General Merchandise buildings, seen in this photo. The white building on the left edge of the photo has since collapsed, The gas pump remains but was painted green & the lettering at the top of the brick building no longer exists. While some of the buildings are open at times, even the closed up buildings still speak volumes of the days they were built amongst the wilder days of Hornitos.

GT019: Ghost Town of Rawhide, Nevada – May 1964.

Before The Restoration:

A few buildings are all that remains to indicate the once booming town of Rawhide, Nevada in May, 1964. The Wonder Lumber Co. building was moved from the town of Wonder, Nevada earlier.

The boom-town of Rawhide, Nevada was built in 1906 after a prospector named Jim Swanson discovered gold there on Christmas Day. Early in 1907, word got out of the strike and the town immediately grew. The height of the mining boom occurred from April to September 1908 and brought to Rawhide a good number of notables, including Tex Rickard, who sold his saloon and left the mining town of Goldfield, NV & came to Rawhide & set up his well-known Northern Saloon. Rickard would later go on to build Madison Square Garden in New York; Boston Garden in Boston, MA and founded the New York Ranger hockey team, which he named after himself (Tex’s Rangers).

After a disastrous fire on September 4, 1908 that destroyed much in the town, the mining also dropped considerably. After a peak population in March-June 1908 of 7000, businesses & people steadily declined. In 1910, the population had dwindled to 500. The post office was closed in 1941 & only a handful of residents remained. Finally in 1967 the last remaining resident of the town (Mrs. Anne Rechel) passed on and the town died with her.

In the late 1980’s, renewed interest was kindled by the gold prices & a large mining operation razed the remaining buildings and created a huge open pit mine that completely obliterated the original townsite of Rawhide, including everything in this photo. Today, nothing is left to show the existence of the town. Mining operations have ceased but what was the town of Rawhide is now an open, mined-out pit.

GT007: Dechambeau Hotel & IOOF Building in Ghost Town of Bodie, California – Aug, 1959.

Before the Restoration:

Continuing in my series of restored images of the Western ghost town of Bodie, CA, this is the Dechambeau Hotel & IOOF building in Bodie as seen in August 1959.

The Dechambeau Hotel on the left, built in the early 1870’s was originally the post office, then converted to boarding house & later a hotel. It was again converted into the Bodie Cafe, a bar & cafe that was in business until the early 1930’s…one of Bodie’s last operating businesses.

To the right of the hotel is the International Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) building. Most of the town’s fraternal & town meetings were held here. In later years, the IOOF became the town’s “Health Club” of a sort as people came to use primitive workout equipment & barbells. It was also used a morgue for a time.

At the far right edge of the photo is the Union Miners Hall, completed on June 28, 1878, where Catholic & Methodist services were held before Bodie’s two churches were built in the 1880’s.

Today, the Miner’s Hall is the Bodie Museum, open to the public.

In 1961, the town of Bodie was placed on the National Historic Register and in 1962, the State of California purchased the land & buildings from the Cain family and has maintained it as California’s Smallest State Historical Park and in a state or “arrested decay,” meaning that the existing buildings will be maintained as they were but with no improvements.

Visitors to Bodie can visit the buildings and see how they were left when the last residents left over a half century ago. It is considered the best existing example of a frontier mining town today.

GT033: Ruins of John Cook Bank Building in the Ghost Town of RHYOLITE, Nevada – March 1973.

Before the Restoration

In this restoration is the remains of the John S. Cook & Co. Bank building in the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada as seen on a stormy day in March, 1973.

Constructed in 1907 at a cost of nearly $90,000, the three-story building was located on the southwest corner of Golden and Broadway streets and was the tallest building in town.

After the building was completed in 1908, it housed the J.S. Cook banking corporation on the first floor; the Post Office in the basement & various broker’s offices on the second & third floors. No expense was spared in making the Cook building one of the most luxurious in all of Rhyolite. It had two vaults, marble flooring imported from Italy, rich mahogany woodwork, imported stained glass windows, indoor plumbing, electric lights & telephones amongst other fineries.

John Cook Building in 1908.

From Wikipedia: “Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region’s biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine.

Industrialist Charles M. Schwab bought the Montgomery Shoshone Mine in 1906 and invested heavily in infrastructure, including piped water, electric lines and railroad transportation, that served the town as well as the mine. By 1907, Rhyolite had electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. Published estimates of the town’s peak population vary widely, but scholarly sources generally place it in a range between 3,500 and 5,000 in 1907–08.

Rhyolite declined almost as rapidly as it rose. After the richest ore was exhausted, production fell. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the financial panic of 1907 made it more difficult to raise development capital. In 1908, investors in the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, concerned that it was overvalued, ordered an independent study. When the study’s findings proved unfavorable, the company’s stock value crashed, further restricting funding. By the end of 1910, the mine was operating at a loss, and it closed in 1911. By this time, many out-of-work miners had moved elsewhere, and Rhyolite’s population dropped well below 1,000. By 1920, it was close to zero.

After 1920, Rhyolite and its ruins became a tourist attraction and a setting for motion pictures. Most of its buildings crumbled, were salvaged for building materials, or were moved to nearby Beatty or other towns, although the railway depot and a house made chiefly of empty bottles were repaired and preserved.”

The bottle house & the ruins of the Cook building are still part of the attractions in Rhyolite today.

GT002: Silver-Mining Ghost Town of Elkhorn, Montana – 1955.

This is a restored view looking at abandoned buildings and the mine at the silver-mining ghost town of Elkhorn, Montana as seen in 1955.

The town was founded in 1872 after the discovery of silver deposits by Swiss prospector Peter Wyes in the hills above the town in 1870.

Unfortunately for him, he died mysteriously before he could make any meaningful fortune from his discovery. In 1875, Anton M. Holter, a rich miner bought the old Wyes claims and established the Holter Lode which was the first silver mine in Elkhorn.

The development of more mines around the Holter Lode brought in more miners and settlers leading to the creation of Elkhorn, a booming town that supplied the mines.

By 1882, the Holter Mine reached peak production & the town boasted a population of 2500 people. At it’s peak in the early 1890’s, Elkhorn had several retail stores, a post office, three hotels and numerous saloons lining the main street. There was also a school, boarding houses, hundreds of homes, a livery, several blacksmith shops, barbershops and a Methodist church.

Unlike many mining camps in the area, most of the residents of Elkhorn were European immigrants with families who relied not just on the mines but also established a thriving woodcutting business in the nearby forests.

Prosperity for all was maintained until the winter of 1888-1889, when a diphtheria epidemic raged through the camps & Elkhorn, killing many, including most of the children of Elkhorn. This was shortly thereafter followed by the sharp drop in the price of silver in 1892 following the decision by the government to drop silver as a monetary base. This marked the beginning of the end of mining in Elkhorn. Many mines closed down in the following few years.

Following the closing of mines in Elkhorn, many of the miners left. By 1893, the population of Elkhorn had dropped to about 600 people. In the following years, the railroad was discontinued, the post office was moved and the school was closed down. The railroad tracks were pulled up in 1931.

Elkhorn was chiefly abandoned in the 1970s, with only a handful of residents persisting into the 21st century. Today, the ghost town stands as Montana’s smallest state park, and what remains of Elkhorn is in varying states of preservation.

GT015: Abandoned Gas Pumps at the Ghost Town of Bodie, CA – Oct. 1959.

Before the Restoration:

This restoration shows the twin Shell gas pumps along Main street in the ghost town of Bodie, CA as seen in Oct. 1959.

The building behind the pumps was the residence of Eli & Lottie Johl. Eli and a partner, Charles Donnelly, setup the Union Market Butcher Shop. Lottie began her time in Bodie as a prostitute, and eventually married Eli. But, because of her recent past working in the red light district, many people shunned them both.

On September 4, 1932 the U.S. Post Office was moved to the Lottie Johl house, with Mary McDonnell as postmistress.

The building to the right of the Johl house was a carpenter shop. That building has since collapsed & there is no trace of it anymore.

The buildings to the right of that were the Sam Leon Bar (later Hise Restaurant in the 1930’s) and the barber shop next to that.

Bodie came into being when a small group of prospectors discovered gold in the hills above the town in 1859. The prospector the town was named after, Wm. S. Bodey, died in a blizzard the following year never seeing the emergence of the town that would be named for him.

In 1876, the Standard Company discovered a profitable deposit of gold-bearing ore, which transformed Bodie from an isolated mining camp comprising a few prospectors and company employees to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of approximately 5,000–7,000 people and rode it’s boomtown status into the late 1880’s. Gold & Silver bullion from the town’s nine stamp mills was shipped to Carson City, Nevada, by way of Aurora, Wellington and Gardnerville. Most shipments were accompanied by armed guards and after the bullion reached Carson City, it was delivered to the mint there, or sent by rail to the mint in San Francisco.

In it’s heyday, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, miners’ and mechanics’ union, several daily newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts, barroom brawls, and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences.

The first signs of decline appeared in 1880 and became obvious toward the end of the year. Promising mining booms in Butte, Montana; Tombstone, Arizona; and Utah lured men away from Bodie. The get-rich-quick, single miners who came to the town in the 1870s moved on to these other booms, and Bodie developed into a family-oriented community.

In 1882 residents built the Methodist Church and the Roman Catholic Church (burned in 1932). Despite the population decline, the mines were flourishing, and in 1881, Bodie’s ore production was recorded at a high of $3.1 million. Also in 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built called the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and mine timbers to the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.

A devastating fire in 1892 destroyed a large section of the town core. Though the mining still continued to prosper, the population had significantly declined further & the town continued to mirror that through the early 19 teens. The towns last newspaper ceased production in 1912, the Standard Consolidated Mill closed in 1913 & in 1917, the railway was abandoned & tracks taken up. Though families still resided in town, & several mills still operated, Bodie was declared a “ghost town” in 1915. Despite this designation & a subsequent fire in town in 1932, Bodie still maintained a post office & mill until 1942 when the last mill closed & the town was essentially deserted.

James Cain, President of Southern Consolidated Mining Co., started purchasing the bank, lots, buildings & most of the available property around town during the early 1900 decline, believing the town would experience a resurgence. The town never saw that resurgence & after the 1932 fire & further decline, Cain began hiring some of the last residents as caretakers to protect and maintain the remaining buildings.

In 1961, the town of Bodie was placed on the National Historic Register and in 1962, the State of California purchased the land & buildings from the Cain family and has maintained it as California’s Smallest State Historical Park and in a state or “arrested decay,” meaning that the existing buildings will be maintained as they were but with no improvements.

Visitors to Bodie can visit the buildings and see how they were left when the last residents left over a half century ago. It is considered the best existing example of a frontier mining town today.

Everything in this photo still exists although the remaining white paint on the buildings is long gone & the gas pumps have lost most of the color seen here.