The Murphys Hotel in Murphys, California

Murphys, California

Murphys is a census-designated place in Calaveras County, California, United States...

 is one of the oldest hotels still operating in California.

First called the Sperry and Perry Hotel, it was opened by James L. Sperry and John Perry on August 20, 1856. The town of Murphys was a popular stopping point along the stagecoach

Stagecoach

A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...

 route from Milton

Milton, California

Milton is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 394 feet and is located at . The community is in ZIP code 95684 and area code 209....

 to the Calaveras Big Trees

Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Calaveras Big Trees State Park is a state park of California, USA, preserving two groves of giant sequoia trees. It is located northeast of Arnold, California in the middle elevations of the Sierra Nevada...

. Thought to be fireproof due to its stone construction and iron shutters, the hotel was damaged in the fire of 1859 that destroyed most of the downtown area. However, it was quickly restored and reopened by spring of 1860.

The new Sperry and Perry Hotel was considered one of the finest hotels outside of San Francisco, and was host to many famous people over the years. Copies of the original register show such signatures as Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

, John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor

John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...

, Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

, John Bidwell

John Bidwell

John Bidwell was known throughout California and across the nation as an important pioneer, farmer, soldier, statesman, politician, prohibitionist and philanthropist...

, Charles Bolles

Charles Bolles

Charles Earl Bowles , better known as Black Bart, was an English-born American Old West outlaw noted for his poetic messages left after two of his robberies. Also known as Charles Bolton, C.E...

 (alias Black Bart), Henry Ward Beecher

Henry Ward Beecher

Henry Ward Beecher was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist, and speaker in the mid to late 19th century...

, Horatio Alger, J.P. Morgan and Thomas Lipton

Thomas Lipton

Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, merchant, and yachtsman. He created the Lipton tea brand and was the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup.-Parentage and childhood:Lipton was born in Glasgow...

.

Renamed the Mitchler Hotel in 1882, and the Murphys Hotel in 1945 by the McKimins family, it is now owned by long-time Calaveras County

Calaveras County, California

Calaveras County is a county located in the Gold Country of the U.S. state of California. Calaveras is the Spanish word for skulls; the county was reportedly named for the remains of Native Americans discovered by the Spanish explorer Captain Gabriel Moraga. As of the 2010 census, the county had a...

 resident Dorian Faught, only the sixth owner in the hotel's history.

The hotel is registered as California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...

 #267 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

(NPS-1971000134).