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Leger Hotel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Leger Hotel, in Mokelumne Hill, California is one of the oldest hotels still operating in California.
George Leger, a Frenchman who came during the California Gold Rush, opened his Hotel de France in 1851, as a wood-framed tent. Next door was the Calaveras County Courthouse, as Mokulemne Hill was the county seat at the time. When the county seat was moved to San Andreas in 1866, Leger bought the court building and incorporated into his hotel. One reason was that it was made of stone and thus had survived two fires that had ravaged the town previously. After restoration following another fire in 1874, the hotel became known as the Leger Hotel, and it has been in operation ever since. The bar, which features a stained-glass back bar with the date 1851 in it, reportedly came around Cape Horn and has been in continuous use.
The former courthouse building was also the location of the county jail, and remnants of the jail cells can still be seen in the building's cellar. The building has not lost its law enforcement connection either: The Calaveras County Sheriff's Department continues to operate a substation there as well.
The hotel has the reputation of being haunted by ghosts. Guests and employees have claimed seeing Leger himself as well as other people. Paranormal investigators have performed tests, but found results to be inconclusive.
The hotel and courthouse building are registered as California Historical Landmark #663.