Murphys, California

The Murphys Hotel in Murphys, California, 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 route from Milton to the Calaveras Big Trees. 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, John Jacob Astor, Ulysses S. Grant, John Bidwell, Charles Bolles (alias Black Bart), Henry Ward Beecher, Horatio Alger, J.P. Morgan and Thomas Lipton. Renamed the Mitchler Hotel in 1882, and the Murphys Hotel in 1945 by the McKimins family, it has since had several owners. The hotel is registered as California Historical Landmark #267 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NPS-1971000134). Gordon Ramsay's Hotel Hell covered the hotel in an episode of the series, broadcast on September 9, 2014, on the U.S. Fox television network. It also appeared in the public television series Road Trip with Huell Howser episode on the Mother Lode.

Peter L. Traver Building is a historical building in Murphys, California in Calaveras County. The building was built by Peter L. Traver in 1856. The building is the oldest stone building in Murphys. Being made of stone, built with iron shutters and Peter L. Traver Building placing sand on the roof protected the building from the town's many fires. Fire swept through the town in 1859, 1874, and 1893. Peter L. Traver was a gold Rush miner who opened a general store in the building. Traver sold the building to the Manuel Estate Company in 1883. Over the years the building has been a general store, warehouse, a Wells Fargo office, and auto repair garage. From age and lack of repairs, the building was set to be taken down in 1949. Dr. Coke Wood and his wife Ethelyn after hearing this, purchased and restored the building. The descendants of the Woods family have turned the Peter L. Traver Building into the Murphys Old Timers Museum. In 2016 the Museum became a community museum, run by volunteers and supported by donations and gift shop sales. Many in the community have donated artifacts to the Museum about Murphys' gold-rush history. The Peter L. Traver Building is a California Historical Landmark No. 266.

Murphys Grammar School is a historic school building in Murphys, California. Built in 1860, the school was the first public school in Murphys. The school was designed in a vernacular Greek Revival style, which was popular at the time of its construction; its design includes a cornice held up by square pilasters, a pedimented gable, and a cupola over the entrance with its own cornice and square pilasters. The school operated continuously from its opening until it closed in 1973; at the time of its closing, it was the longest continuously running school west of the Mississippi River.Albert Abraham Michelson, the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, attended the school.Murphys Grammar School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 8, 1973.

Ironstone Vineyards is a winery that is noted for the production of several leading US wine brands, including Obsession Wines, Leaping Horse Vineyards, Christine Andrew, Stone Valley, and Drifting. As of 2004, Ironstone has been listed as the 17th-largest winery (in terms of cases sold) in the United States. Ironstone also sells significant amounts of wine in international markets including the United Kingdom, Canada, and 40 other countries. Ironstone has used a series of different names and bottle designs including "Kautz Ironstone Vineyards," "Ironstone Vineyards," "IronStone," and, most recently, "Ironstone 4th Generation Family Growers".

The Douglas Flat School is a historic school building on California State Route 4 in Douglas Flat, California. The school was built in 1854 to serve miners who settled in Douglas Flat during the California Gold Rush; the school site was the only place in Douglas Flat where mining was not permitted, as the mining rights on the property were reserved for the first teachers. The building was designed in a vernacular Greek Revival style, a popular style during the Gold Rush. The simple design of the school includes a pedimented gable in the front, an architrave set atop plain pilasters, a flat cornice, and a small belfry. The one-room schoolhouse first taught classes in 1856 and operated until 1956. It reopened in 1971 to become a kindergarten and later became a community center.The Douglas Flat School was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1973.

Mercer Caverns is a show cave located one mile north of Murphys in Calaveras County California. It is named after the gold prospector Walter J. Mercer who discovered the caves around 1885 and filed a claim. The caverns have a large number of speleothems, stalactites, and stalagmites. It is formed in a marble unit known as the Calaveras Formation. It also contains a large display of aragonite frostwork. The standard tour of the cave descends 160 feet, 208 steps down and 232 up in a traverse between the natural and an artificial entrance. The cave was mapped in 1986 to a length of 3389 feet and a total depth of 192 feet. The map can be viewed on the cave's web site.

Douglas Flat (formerly, Douglasflat and Douglass Flat) is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 1965 feet (599 m) and is located at 38°06′52″N 120°27′18″W. The community is in ZIP code 95229 and area code 209. Douglas Flat was a roaring mining camp of the early 1850s. In 1857 the Harper and Lone Star Claims produced $130,000 worth of gold. The so-called Central Hill Channel, an ancient river deposit from which vast quantities of gold have been taken, is located here. The town today is registered as California Historical Landmark #272.The first post office opened in 1879, and was closed for a time in 1891 before reopening. The town's name honors Tom Douglas, an 1850s merchant.

The site of the Old Mining Camp of Brownsville is a California Historical Landmark on Pennsylvania Gulch Road east of the town of Murphys, California in Calaveras County. The Mining Camp of Brownsville was a California Gold Rush camp in Pennsylvania Gulch in from 1850 to 1870. The camp is named after Alfred Brown, who was the former owner of the Table Mountain Ranch. There were many rich mines in the area and Brownsville Mining Camp supported this activity. So rich was the area, the Brownsville Mining District limited the size of mines in the District. Each miner could claim and own only one wet and one dry site, no larger than 150 square feet (14 m2) each. Brownsville Mining District was in the area of Pennsylvania Gulches and Missouri Gulches 2 miles from Murphys. There are no remains of the camp, but nearby is the Brownsville Mining District Cemetery. A plaque monument was dedicated on July 19, 1953, by California State Park Commission with the monument base built by Christa Parlor No. 137 and Ruby Parlor No. 49 of the Native Daughters of the Golden West.Table Mountain Ranch was 1,300-acre ranch that started a mile east of the city of Murphys and ran to the Stanislaus River. The ranch's was bordered on the west by Coyote Creek. George Brown founded the ranch in the 1850, and supported the gold rush miners. George Brown sold the ranch in 1860 to William. Auditt and George March. In 1882 the ranch was sold to Leo Dolan and again sold in 1889 it was sold to William and Ethel Adams, mining engineer from Boston. After their divorce, William sold the ranch to Ethel's father. Ethel ran the ranch and had a herd of beef cattle, Jersey dairy cows, swine and horses. The ranch also became an orchard with English walnuts, almonds, French prunes, peachas, grapes and apples. Ethel died in 1927 and left the ranch to its foreman, Fred Kenney. Kenney operated the Dairy till 1940. Kenney raised cattle until 1963, in 1963 when Kenney sold the ranch to David Kentfield. Kentfield subdivided some of Ranch. Some Hollywood movies were shot on Table Mountain Ranch including: The County Chairman in 1935 with Will Rogers, The Farmer Takes a Wife in 1935 with Janet Gaynor and Henry Fonda, The Red House in 1947 with Edward G. Robinson, and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. Only raimaning building of the ranch is the Dairy barn on 70-acres, that is now the Indian Rock Vineyards at 38.1300°N 120.4381°W / 38.1300; -120.4381.

Vallecito (Spanish for "Little Valley") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 442 at the 2010 census, up from 427 at the 2000 census. The town is registered as California Historical Landmark #273. Nearby is Moaning Cavern, the largest cave chamber in California, which the Miwok Indians used as a burial ground.

Vallecito Bell Monument is a historical bell in Vallecito, California in Calaveras County. The Vallecito Bell was cast in 1853 in the town of Troy, New York. The bell was sailed around the Straits of Magellan of South America to California arriving in 1854. Citizens of Vallecito donated the money to purchase the bell for the city. At first, the bell was hung in a large oak tree and used to gather the town for meetings or emergencies. On February 16, 1939, a storm fell the oak tree. The Vallecito Bell Monument is now at the intersection of Church Street and Cemetery Lane in Vallecito. Vallecito Bell is California Historical Landmark No. 370. Vallecito was named Little Valley by Mexicans of California. The city of Vallecito was a California Gold Rush town, with many miners. The Murphy brothers discovered gold nearby in 1849. The site was called Murphy's old diggings. for a time.The Vallecito Historic District is California Historical Landmark No. 273.

Twisted Oak Winery is a family-owned boutique winery in Vallecito, California specializing in wine made from grape varieties native to the Mediterranean regions of western Europe. The winery is located on a hilltop at 2280 ft (695 m) above sea level in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and most of the grapes for the wines are sourced from nearby vineyards in Calaveras County. The winery name and logo design are derived from a California Blue Oak tree on the property.