You’ll find everything from cabins, historic bed and breakfast inns to nearby camping. Bridgeport is surrounded by vast National Forest lands; the region is an unspoiled recreational playground with pristine lakes, rivers, streams and hot springs. Bridgeport is host to the Mono County museum that is located in the original Bridgeport schoolhouse, built in 1880. The museum holds many artifacts, including several native Piute Indian baskets. Outside there are remnants of the gold mining era, including a stamp mill, water wheel, and several old wagons.
The East Walker River, flows to the Bridgeport Reservoir northeast of town. The reservoir offers boating, fishing, water sports, and bird watching. The surrounding valley is picturesque, with lush grass land, ranches, and a scenic mountain backdrop.
Nearby is Bodie State Historic Park , a gold-mining ghost town where visitors can walk down the deserted streets. Only a small part of the town now survives, preserved in a state of "arrested decay." Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Bodie was designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962.
Bodie became a boom town in 1877 and by 1879 it boasted a population of about 10,000 residents and over 2,000 buildings. The town became known as the most lawless, wildest and toughest mining camp in the Far West. Every other building on the mile long main street was a saloon. There were seven breweries and whiskey was brought in 100 barrels at a time. Killings occurred regularly, becoming almost daily events. Robberies, stage coach holdups, and street fights added to the excitement. "One little girl, whose family was taking her to Bodie, wrote in her diary: "Good-bye God, I'm going to Bodie." |
