What happens when you mix Johnny Cash with haunting photography of one of America's best preserved ghost towns? You get this absolute doozy of a video by Colin Rich, who captured the forlorn beauty of Bodie, California. Explains Rich of walking among the ruins of Bodie:
Gold was discovered back in 1859 by William S Bodey and at its apex, the town had a population of 10,000 residents through the 1880's. Bodie was replete with the makings of old west folklore; gunfighters, saloons, miners, gambling halls and prostitutes, a rough place through and through. But the town's success didn't last and faded from ‘glory' prior to World War I and was finally down for the count during WWII once all mining operations were halted due to the war effort. It was effectively abandoned with many of the structures retaining the inhabitants belongings because the roads out were toll and weight based; many people simply decided to leave their belongings behind to avoid large fees so the ghost town was born.Today, after two fires, around 100 structures remain, (5% of the original town) some of which are filled with furniture, lined and matted with layer up on layer of rotting and sagging wallpaper. Some buildings are seemingly untouched time-capsules to the once treacherous lives of the miners and other inhabitants of the town. Kids toys sitting by the window, a ball peen hammer on the ground, strewn gears in a machine shop, and rusted hangers hanging in a closet.
[Jason Sondhi via Colin Rich]