A Return to the Past
National Register of Historic Places #71000209
The Historic District of Weaverville is centered on four blocks on Main Street (Highway 299) and is on the National Register of Historic Places. There are over 35 marked old buildings to explore.
The Weaverville Historic District comprises an area ofabout11 acres bounded by Center Street on the east andSouth Miner/Oregon Streets on the west, bisected longitudinallyby Main Street and running about 1800 feet south from GardenGulch.
Representative buildings within the Historic District,in all about 25 buildings – include most of the architecturalstyles common to the Northern California gold mining towns ofthe 19th Century. Wood two-story residences, wooden church,brick single- and two-story commercial building, and lodge halls. Some buildings possesses the unique spiraling iron stairwaysto give access to second floors in separate ownership. AChinese tamped earth structure and the frame and brickChinese temple, together present a pleasantly nostalgicatmosphere reflecting a past era.
Some of the brick buildings have been stuccoed on theexterior and the minor changesand adaptations to suitneeds of the owners are evident, but in the main buildingsof the Weaverville Historic District retain the feeling andassociations of their heyday.
Travel back in time as you discoverthe District’s charm on a self-guided walking tour.
The Trinity County Courthouse is a fine example of the Italianate architectural style.
Founded 1850, the Weaverville Historic District consists ofthirty-one contributing buildings on Main Street.
Weaverville is one of the best preserved towns of the Shasta-Trinity Gold Rush era. As a commercial hub, Weaverville supplied food, tools, equipment and clothing to thousands of prospectors and miners over a large section of Northern California.
Named for John Weaver in 1850, the camp of forty-niners was the political as well as the commercial and entertainment center of Trinity County.
Early wood buildings lost in a series of disastrous fires were replaced with brick construction. By 1858, there were about twenty-five brick buildings along Main Street.
Several of these buildings have an unusual circular iron stairway leading from the sidewalk to the second floor because the upper and lower stories had different owners. The first stairway was built in he summer of 1860 by Ira Howe, the owner of the upper floor, shortly after completion.
The thirty-one historic buildings include examples of most of the architectural styles common to the Northern California gold mining towns of the 19th century—wood two-story residences, wooden church, brick single and two-story commercial building and lodge halls, a Chinese tamped earth structure, and the frame and brick Chinese temple.
A large and active Chinese population centered in a two block area where the Weaverville Joss House is located. This area was referred to as Chinatown.
The nearby cemetery offers a glimpse into Weaverville past. You can take a self-guided walking tour of the cemetery and enjoy more history and pictures.
At one time, Weaverville had three Chinese cemeteries. The Chinese intended to return to China after making their fortune in America. Shouldthey die in the United States before they returned to their homeland, the Chinese wanted their remains to be sent to China. The law, however, required their burial in California for sanitary reasons. The remains would have to stay buried for three years, but for a four-year period after that, the remains could be disinterred and shipped to China. After that four-year term expired, the remains were to be left undisturbed. For that reason, Chinese societies and organizations made certain that remains were properly disinterred and returned to China within the four years.
More reading…
- List of Historic Markers in Weaverville: Historic Marker Database
- Learn about the impact of fires on the old Weaverville Business District and how the Weaverville Fire Department was formed: WFD History
The buildings in the historic district have housed many different business over the years, but have maintained the name of their original owners.
The county Historical Society hasa walking PDF tour map of the District with additional descriptions for download.
| Original Building Name | Year Built | Current Business Occupant | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitmore House | 1895 | The Whitmore Inn | Built after the disastrous fire of 1890. An example of Victorian homes in Weaverville, now a Bed and Breakfast Inn. |
| Trinity Congregational Church | 1891 | Trinity Congregational Church | The previous church, built in 1880, was destroyed in the 1890 fire except for doors, windows and furniture which were salvaged for this church, which is almost a replica of the 1880 church. Parsonage to the left was built in 1902. |
| Reverend A.T. Jackson House | 1893 | The Highlands Art Center, Snyder-Highland Foundation. | Building is a typical residence, with outbuildings and meadow (orchard)behind a white picket fence, built in early 1890s. Open to public as the Highland Art Center. |
| Mar Guoy House | 1896 | Banana Belt Sales & Repairs | On the southern edge of Chinatown. Rammed earth building, extensively remodeled. Survived the 1905 fire due to the earth walls. Became a mortuary in 1912. |
| Pacific Brewery | 1855 | Red Dragon Restaurant | Used as a brewery by various owners, including the Meckel Brothers, until prohibition in 1917. Among the first ‘fire-proof’ brick buildings. Iron doors & shutters confined the fire of 1861 to the inside of the building. |
| Old Fire House, | 1900s | Old Fire House | A group of fiveChinese buildings were destroyed by fires. A rare Chinese rammed earth adobe building is all that remains. The rammed earth wall on display here is believed to be one of the only two remaining examples in exposed rammed earth walls to be seen in California. |
| Comstock & Martin Building | 1854 | Barking Mad Art Studio | Originally two stories was gutted by fire in 1863 and remodeled into one story building. Also, the most important livery stable in town was next door towards Hwy. 3. |
| Shaving Saloon | 1854 | Gold Rush Jewelers | Isaac Dixon’s Humboldt Shaving Saloon occupied this spot in 1854, and it was used as a barber shop by a variety of owners for about 100 years. |
| New York Hotel | 1854 | New York Saloon | Built in 1854 as a single story frame building by Morris and Brady. It burned in the town fire of 1859 and rebuilt as a brick two-story. Thengutted in the big fire of 1863 and rebuilt. The hotel was known as the official Stage Stop until after the turn of the century. In 1931 the entire brick front was remodeled, arches placed and two rooms added over the saloon. |
| Edgecombe and Magnolia Buildings | 1856 | Main Street Shoes | Started as the American Hotel. Upper floor of Magnolia Building housed North Star Lodge #61, I.O.O.F. 1856 to 1859, then Masonic Trinity Lodge #27 bought the second floor. They moved in 1967 when the Lodge soldtheir interest to the telephone company.Wascombined andremodeled to house the Telephone Company-Golden West TelephoneCompany. Spiral staircase to second story. |
| Anderson Building | 1855 | Sweet Sheep Yarn | Built by Davidson and Harris Drug Store. Then run asWeaverville Drug Store from 1862 until closing in 2005. The Weaverville Drug Store had been in business at the same location and under the same name since 1862. |
| Clifford Building (Native Sons Hall) | 1855 | Trinity County Information Center | One of the first condominiums in California with each floor having a different owner, which required the spiral staircase (in 1859) to access the upstairs. The entire building came under one owner in 1970 occupied by a Dress Shop on lower floor & the Native Sons had use of the upper floor. This may be the fourth building on this site, fires having destroyed at least two of the previous buildings. The Trinity County Information Center provides community and visitor assistance. |
| Hocker Store | 1855 | Trinity Title Company | Mr. Henry Hocker established his mercantile business here. |
| Condon’s Saloon & Empire Hotel | 1861 | Weaverville Hotel & Emporium | Built as the “Miner’s Hotel,” its name was later changed to “Empire Hotel.” In 1915, after the top floor of the building was destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt and rechristened the Weaverville Hotel. Remodeled as a Bed and Breakfast and Emporium, decorated with beautiful antiques. |
| Bandstand | 1901 | Bandstand | Built to showcase the talents of the Ladies’ Eltapome Band.Before radio and television, it was themajorsource of entertainment and pleasure ushering in the twentieth century. Still used by Santa Claus during Mountain Magic Christmas to hear the Christmas wishes of Trinity County children. |
| Hocker Building/Courthouse & 1st Weaverville cabin site | 1856 | Trinity County Courthouse | Built by Henry Hocker. Prior to being purchased by the county in 1865, this building had several commercial uses including a period as a saloon.The masonry on the Courthouse was limestone quarried from the South Pacific Railroad Company Brown Mountain Quarry on Brown Mountain. “The limestone is coarsely crystalline.” Remodeled in 1935 following the routing of Highway 299 past the side of the building. One of the oldest courthouses in California. The site of the first cabin built in Weaverville is believed to be just to the east of the courthouse where there is now a parking lot. |
| J.S. McCain and Company | 1852 | Angela’s Beads | Buildings both built asone building ownedand operated as Morris Hardware. There were wagon sheds, horse stalls, corrals & warehouses in the back. |
| D.M. Eder and Rhodes & Company | 1854 | Mamma Llama Cafe & Eatery and Main Street Gallery | The Eder Building was the first fireproof brick building in Weaverville. Later, it was combined with the Rhodes Building to create “Gents Furnishings & Dry Goods” which later became “Van Matre’s Clothing Store”. |
| Tinnin Building | 1856 | Trinity Journal | Originally a fire-proof brick hardware store and tin shop. The back of the building was used as a pack station & ice house in the early 1900s. |
| Buck & Cole Building | 1856 | Olson Stoneware. | An early condominium. Top floor was once the Weaverville IOOF Hall. Ryan’s Store was on the first floor for over 50 years. This was the last condominium ownership building in Weaverville. (The Ryan family now owns Top’s Market) The exterior remains nearly original. The staircase was added in 1860. |
| R.A. fa*gg Building | 1854 | La Grange Cafe | Originally the “City Drug Company.” |
| A. Solomon Building | 1856 | La Grange Cafe | Originally a stove and tinware store by S. Markewitz. After 1858, occupied by various banks. The vault is now the wine cellar for La Grange Cafe. |
| F.W. Blake Building | 1856 | The Diggin’s Saloon | Built by Moss, Mabie & Co. Used to be F.W. Blake Bank and the Wells-Fargo Express. Now the Diggin’s Saloon. |
| Joss House | 1850 | Joss House State Historic Landmark | Built by the Chinese as a place of worship in the midst of Chinatown. This building was destroyed by fire. In 1874, the present building was started. Was presented to the State as a historical park in 1956 and dedicated in 1961. |
| J.J. “Jake” Jackson Museum Complex | Jackson Museum | The museum wasdedicated June 23, 1968. Source of funds being State Bond Act Grant; County Funds; Historical Society Funds. Displaysearly day Trinity County mining, logging, and household artifacts, produces booklets about Trinity County history and holds demonstrations at the Blacksmith Shop, Stamp Mill & Sawmill. |
