Designated Historic Buildings

Mokelumne Hill’s Community Plan identifies the Historic District as well as Designated Historic Buildings which have special historic and/or architectural significance. These buildings are identified by number on the maps in the back of this phone book. This list is not exhaustive as there are many more unrecognized historic homes, buildings, and sites in the town.
1. First Congregational Church (1856). (8243 Main Street). This board-and-batten Greek Revival structure is the oldest Congregational church building in California (CHL No. 261).
2. Town Hall (1903). (8283 Main Street). This basic structure, with some Craftsman elements, was constructed to be used as the Community Hall and Theatre. In 1936, a WPA crew excavated the basement and built a dining room and kitchen. A community hall has been on this site from the earliest years.
3. Hodapp & Friend Store (1854). (8299 Main Street). This southernmost building is part of a three-lot complex of stone Greek Revival stores. By 1860 it was owned by barber William Ratz, then operated by Edward Wiehe & Francis Marx, and in the 1870s by Davidson and Peek as a store.
Centre Market (1854). Between the walls of No. 3 and No. 4, Augustus Gebhardt established a meat market, which was later operated by Joseph Halk, and then by Hexter and Adler in the 1870s and 1880s.
4. McFadden Stone Store (1854). (8307 Main Street). Built by grocer William McFadden, the store was operated by Gustav Runkel and Conrad Platt as a hardware store in 1860, by merchant William DePew and his wife in the 1870s and 1880s, and by John Meyer as the Oasis Saloon in the early 1900s. Reed operated it as a grocery store into the early 1970s; it is now a private residence.
5/6. Danielewicz Stores (1854). (8317 Main Street). Consisting of two buildings built by brothers Julius and Gustave Danielewicz, of Prussa. Later, under several owners, the building housed a saloon, sold clothing, groceries, books, cigars, furniture, watches & pianos. By 1882 Thomas Peters’ Drug Store was operating in the building, carried on by his son Thomas, Jr. in the 1890s. In the 1910s, the Suave family combined the stores into one building that housed a market, run by the Winkler family from circa 1945 until the 1970s.
7. McFadden Store (c. 1854). (8317 Main Street). Built using the walls of No. 6 and No. 8, this liquor store was operated by McFadden & Patterson in the 1870s, and by E. Patterson alone in the 1880s, when the Italianate false front façade was apparently added. In 1914 it was assessed to William Wells. It was occupied as an addition to the Sauve store (No. 5/6) sometime thereafter.
8. McFadden Liquor Store (c. 1854). (8325 Main Street). William McFadden’s widow Julia operated this stone building as a liquor and tobacco store after McFadden’s death in 1864 through the early 1880s. It became the residence of John Rider in 1887 and was occupied by Henry Krim’s saloon in the early 1900s; in 1911 it became the Marre Saloon.
9. Levinson & Bro. Store (1854). ). (8373 W. Center Street). Greek Revival in style, the store was run first by Levinson and later Rosenfield. It was leased by Wells Fargo in 1865 and by 1874 was occupied by Dr. A. H. Hoerchner’s Drug Store. In 1887 it was owned by Frank Peek. In the 1920s the front was renovated for the Frank Peek Garage.
10. Rapetto and Rogers Stone Store (1854). (Corner W. Center and Clark Streets) This simple Greek Revival building was owned first by John Rogers and John Rappetto, and later by Raggio and then Wheelright. In the late 1890s, Charles Gardella operated it as the Baldwin Hotel, with a mortuary on the lower floor; porches and some Queen Anne elements were added at this time. It was later owned by John Noce and then the Cuneo family. Currently it is a private residence.
11. Weihe House (c.1860). (8437 W. Center Street). This Gothic Revival frame residence was owned by Edward Weihe in 1865, by A.C. Adams in the 1870s, and by Sam Davidson by 1896.
12. Sturges/Costa Stone Store (1854). (8402 W. Center Street). A Greek-Revival stone building, it was owned by H.M. Sturges in 1856. During the 1860s and 1870s it was owned by Lorenzo Costa and occupied by Lancaster & Scott as a shoe store. Charles Jacobs operated his merchandise store in the building in the 1880s and 1890s; after 1900 it was a warehouse for G. Costa. It was renovated and is currently a residence.
13. L. Mayer Building (1854). (8388 W. Center Street). Built for L. Mayer, this Greek Revival building served as Ferdinand Bach’s barber shop and store from the 1860s-1890s; later it was owned by John Guiffra and John Costa. Only the stone façade remains.
14. Abrams/Sokolosky Stone Store (1854). (8368 W. Center Street). Owned by Samuel Abrams in the 1850s, the Greek Revival building was owned by Isadore Sokolosky in the 1860s and 1870s, it was the home of the Calaveras Chronicle in 1861, and by R. Wise in the 1880s and 1890s. Later C. Guiffra operated a store in the building, and it was known as Nuner’s store during the 1910s.
15. Webb Stone Store (1854). (8386 W. Center Street). Built for J. Webb, by 1858 the Greek Revival building was owned by William Bosworth and served as the Post Office. By the early 1860s L.M. Hellman’s “Segar Store” had been established in the building. In the 1870s and 1880s Gabriel Carravia’s store was housed there, and, after 1900, was operated by R.Wise and then Charles Jacobs. It was later renovated as a garage, and housed Swanson’s Body Shop through the 1960s.
16. Adams and Co./IOOF Hall (1854). (8360 W. Center Street). Originally a two-story Greek Revival building, it first served as the Wade Hanson & Co. store and by 1858 was leased by Adams & Co. as an express office, followed by Wells Fargo in 1868. The International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) purchased the building in 1861, adding the third story meeting room and leasing out the lower floors (CHL No. 256).
17. Sturges/Peek House (c.1854). (8409 Peek Circle). Built as a one-story stone residence for H.M. Sturges, it was purchased by G. F. Wesson in 1866 and then by Frank Peek in the 1890s. The Italianate second story was added by the Peeks.
18. Sturges Stone Store (1854). ). (8459 E. Center Street). Originally a two-story Greek Revival building owned and operated by H.M. Sturges, it was operated by Hexter and Adler as the Washington Market in the 1870s. From the late 1880s through the 1920s it was the Peek Store. It burned in 1945, and the stones from the second floor were used to construct the adjacent building (site of No. 19).
19. Post Office: (ca. 1910). No Longer Present The two-story frame building burned in 1945. The current building was constructed of stone from the second floor of neighboring Sturges Stone Store, No. 18.
20. Bernardi-Gobbi Saloon (c.1895). (8316 Main Street). This Italianate false-front commercial frame building was built by Frank Bernardi as a saloon, later operated by Severino Gobbi. It is now a private residence.
21. Calaveras County Courthouse (1854). (8304 Main Street). The two-story stone Greek Revival building was constructed in 1854, after the fire of that year destroyed the earlier Court House on Center Street. When the county seat moved to San Andreas in 1866, it was purchased by W.P. Peek who operated a store, offices and saloon. George Leger purchased the building in 1874 and included it as part of his new hotel (No. 22) (CHL No. 663).
22. Hotel Leger (1875). (8304 Main Street). The first Hotel de France was built on this site as early as 1851. In 1853 George Leger purchased the establishment, expanding it over the years. Destroyed by fires in 1854 and then 1874, Leger constructed the current two-story, vernacular Greek Revival Hotel de Europe stone structure incorporating the neighboring old Courthouse building (No. 21), after the second fire (CHL No. 663).
23. Telegraph Office (c.1890). (8278 Main Street). This false-front vernacular Italianate building served as a telegraph office, the Post Office, and Dr. Stuckey’s office for many years. It is now a private residence.
24. Hexter House (1889). (8320 Lafayette Street). A two-story Italianate frame home built by butcher Kaufman Hexter and then occupied by the Schrag and Howard families.
25. Dudley House (1856). (8252 Prospect Street). Homesteaded by attorney Allan P. Dudley in 1861, this classic Greek Revival residence features wooden Doric columns around the porch. It was later owned by J.G. Severance and then William Peek. Because of its architectural significance it is well known throughout the Mother Lode.
26. W. F. Foster Home (c.1855). No Longer Present. Replaced by modern residences.
27. Werle Soda Works (c.1887). (8500 Lafayette Street). Charles Werle built this frame Italianate building on the site of the Neyman and Drake Soda Works of 1858. It is situated over a spring of water used through 1910 in the manufacture of soda. It has been faced with stucco and is currently a residence.
28. Peek/Gleason House (c.1860). (8333 Lafayette Street). William Peek had his house and barn on this large lot in 1860, selling to James Gleason in 1870. The Greek Revival frame dwelling sits on a rhyolite tuff stone foundation.
29. St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church (c.1900). (Corner of Lafayette and Marlette Streets). This simple Gothic Revival church is the fourth in a series: the first Roman Catholic Church was built at the top of Church Street in 1857; moved to this location in the 1870s after a fire; then burned and rebuilt on the first site on Church Street. The church moved to its Lafayette Street location circa 1900.
30. Public School (1865). (8238 Old School Way). A Greek Revival design, the school served grades 1-8 until 1963. The school originally contained two rooms and was expanded with an “L” addition about 1900. It has been converted into a residence.
31. Kasserman House (c.1852). (8144 S. Main Street). Jacob Kasserman resided in this simple vernacular National Folk style stone house through the 1880s, selling to George Muths. Photographer Edith Irvine lived here c.1910-1949.
32. LaForge/Hoerchner House (1854). (8489 Hoerschner Place). Built as the Gothic Revival residence of A.B. LaForge, in 1860 it was owned by David S. Terry of the infamous 1859 San Francisco Broderick-Terry duel. Dr. Adolphe H. Hoerchner, wife Paulina, and family occupied it from the early 1860s into the 1890s. Originally having one gable, the Hoerchners added two more giving the home its distinctive roofline. It is one of the oldest frame homes in the community.
33. Washington Hotel site (1854). No Longer Present. Location of 1854 Washington Hotel and 1872 French Bakery. Destroyed in 1880s.
34. Parsonage (c.1855–1860). (8237 Main Street). This National Folk Gable-Front style house originally served as the Parsonage for the Congregational Church adjacent on the north. It has 6/6 light windows and vertical board-and-batten siding, similar to that on the Church.
35. Mangold House (c. 1890s). (8197 Main Street). A vernacular Queen Anne house with a wrap-around porch and hipped roof with cross gables; the Eastlake five-panel front door is later. The Mangolds were the town bakers around the end of the 19th century.
36 Gebhardt House (c. 1854). (8331 Stevenson Street). This National Folk Gable-Front house is one of the oldest houses in the downtown area and is sided with horizontal California rustic lapped siding. The 1920s board-and-batten buggy house has also been restored.
37. Bennett House (c.1890). (8281 Old School Way). This is an early 1890s Queen Anne house with narrow paired windows. A circa 1920s renovation included the addition of a kitchen with a tri-partite window and semi-enclosed porch.
38. Bernardi House (late 1890s). (8550 E. Center Street). A classic Queen Anne house with original siding, cut-out bargeboard trim and turned porch posts. It features fish-scale elements in the gable end of the hipped gable roof.
39. Prindle House (c.1890). (8560 E. Center Street). This Queen Anne house retains original brackets and fish scale siding, as well as chamfered porch posts. The 1/1 windows are trimmed with Greek revival style pediments.
40. Belisle House (c.1860s). (8475 W. Center Street). This vernacular Greek Revival house has 2/2 windows and boxed eaves. The front recessed door with side-lights and transom suggests a construction date of 1860 to 1870.
41. Casaretto House (c.1890s). (8900 W. Center Street). This is a Four-Square style house with hipped front-gable roof and a wrap-around porch. It was part of Lower Italian Gardens, also known as the “May Pole Ranch.”
42. Italian Gardens Cook House (c.1910). (8970 W. Center Street). This National Folk Gable-Front house has a wrap-around porch. It has 1/1 windows and board and batten siding. It served as the cook and bunk house for Lower Italian Gardens and was renovated by Frank Garavanta in 1945.
43. Rees House (early 1890s). (8349 Lafayette Street). This is an early 1890s Queen Anne style house which has had the exterior covered with stucco. It retains its Queen Anne form and scale as shown on the 1895 Sanborn map.
44. Fred Lombardi House (late 1930s). (8215 Main Street). This is a Minimal Traditional style house with a cross gable roofline.
45. Alex Lombardi House (c.1930s). (8285 Clark Street). This Minimal Traditional house has retained its original multi-light French door and 1/1 windows.
46. Munoz/Borchin House (c.1920s). (8636 W. Center Street). This vernacular Folk House has been faced with a varied selection of stones and minerals to create an eclectic marvel.
47. Eugenie Baudin House (c.1895). (8278 Main Street). This is a National Folk Gable-Front house covered with its original horizontal siding. Its basement story is of cut rhyolite was constructed in the 1850s; with arched doors facing Main Street, it likely housed a commercial venture.
48. Porteus House (c.1890). (8196 Church Street). This American Four-Square style home features a hip roof, paired windows, and a wrap-around porch on all four sides.
49. Gardella House (1930s). (8258 Church Street). This Spanish Eclectic/Mission Revival style was constructed in the 1930s. The industrial metal sash windows are original to the design and the home has been beautifully maintained.
50. Baudin Adobe (c.1850). (9130 Happy Valley Road). This two-room adobe building is perhaps the oldest remaining structure in the area, part of the early French community in Happy Valley. By 1856, Louis and Eugene Baudin operated a saloon in the building. It is now a private dwelling.
51. Farmer House (1920s). (8171 Church Street). The Craftsman Bungalow front addition was appended to a ca. 1910 home, probably late 1920s. The front gable has a distinctive lower-pitched roofline and the round-edge dropped siding is of the period.
52. Greve House (c.1850s). (8450 Peek Circle). This is a Greek Revival house complete with French doors and windows extending nearly to the floor level. Built by a pioneer family, it is one of the oldest frame home in the community and has been beautifully restored.
53. Hutchinson House (late 1890s). (8273 Main Street). Originally a single-story home with a “Tin Shop” in front, a second story was added ca. 1910. The well-maintained residence has distinctive Queen Anne style elements.
54. Lavezzo House (1897). (8928 West Center Street). This Queen Anne Revival style home still shows remnants of its spindles, brackets, and other decorative ornamentation. It was built in the Lower Italian Gardens by Stefano and Jeannie Lavezzo in 1897 for $400; the stone wine cellar on the property predates the home.
55. Danz House (1936). (8266 N Main Street). This American Four-Square house has the traditional square proportions and horizontal siding, but lacks the common hipped roof and dormer. It was constructed by town blacksmith Charlie Danz in 1936, along with the detached garage.