Bodie was once one of the most active mining camps in the West, known for twenty-below winters, scorching summers, and trigger-happy bad men. The town flourished between 1876 and 1882 with over 30 operating mines, its own narrow gauge railroad, and a population of about 10,000. Among its inhabitants, Bodie’s infamous gunmen stood out, and their fights and robberies provided good material for local newspapers. Despite its reputation as the wildest camp in the West, Bodie was the most productive gold district in the Basin Ranges. The town faded after 1882, its decline hastened by two major fires, but some mining continued until World War II.