Originally built in 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War and at the height of the Gold Rush, the Weaverville Hotel was then called Condon's Saloon (with rooms in back). The name was soon changed to the Empire Hotel. It burned to the ground in 1873 and again in 1880. When fire gutted the second floor in 1910, it was not until a change of ownership in 1914 that the upstairs was restored and the hotel resumed full services as a hotel. You can still see the burn marks on the stairs, a result of the 1910 fire. Ghosts? Probably a few that

Champagne tub is from Room 1

(You can see on the side of the building where there are 3 old-fashioned swings and several rocking chairs. Someday we hope to make the upstairs balcony functional again.)

we could name, including a 15 year-old grand daughter of former Irish owners, John and Margaret Bergin. Mary came for a visit sometime before 1900, and died in the hotel of typhoid. The story goes that she was a well-liked young woman whose death inspired the town to fill in the defunct 20 foot deep, water-filled placer mine located where the bandstand is now. In fact, within a few years of her death, every such eyesore, breeder of mosquitos and typhoid in Weaverville had been filled in. What is now the Emporium was the original lobby and porch of the hotel, and the fireplace in the shop was the method of heating at the time. The stairs to the left of the fireplace was the way to get to the second floor while the saloon was accessed via a dirt path along the side of the hotel. Later the pathway was enclosed, new stairs at the front of the hotel were added, and the old stairs were closed off. In the 30's the new parlor and the manager's quarters above it were added, the saloon was closed, and the "Gold Nugget Jewelers" moved into the saloon space. Steam heating, modern plumbing, and electricity were all added between 1914 and 1944. The second story porch which ran along the Court Street side was also enclosed in order to have showers and toilets for many of the rooms on that side. Brian and Jeanne Muir bought the hotel in 2002 and re-opened in 2004 after extensive renovation.