Bodie At Its Peak
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After Bodie had developed into a mega-successful gold mining center, it grew to have a Wells Fargo Bank, four volunteer fire companies, a brass band, railroad, worker unions, a jail, and more. At the height of its success, it had 65 saloons on the main street which was over a mile long. With the town’s success and large population, violence, and crime became a norm.
A common saying in the town was “Have a man for breakfast?” Which meant, “Did anyone get killed last night?” Bodie even had a Chinatown with several hundred Chinese residents, a Taoist temple, and more than enough opium dens.
