Said to be the oldest hotel in California east of the Sierra, the American Hotel was erected in 1871 by an Englishman named John Simpson and his wife. An advertisement for this new centerpiece of the Cerro Gordo mining camp ran in the Inyo Register with a date of June 15, 1871.
The downstairs features a big bar, ornate dining room, kitchen and sitting rooms, while men working a shift in the mines could rent a bed in one of the dormitory rooms upstairs for 12 hours at a time.
American Hotel and view of Owens Lake
American Hotel in 1991 before restoration
The American Hotel is at right; next to it to the left is the Crapo House, and behind that is the Gordon House.
Front porch of the American Hotel
Ore Cart in front of Crapo House next to American Hotel
(Friends of Cerro Gordo Collection
Front reception area of the American Hotel
American Hotel bar and dinning room
Dining room of the American Hotel
Restored American Hotel
Crapo House (left), American Hotel (right)
American Hotel
Crapo House, American Hotel, Hunter House (in rear) (Friends of Cerro Gordo Collection)
Front parlor of the American Hotel (the room immediately to the right off of the lobby), looking into the dining room
Bar and dining room of the American Hotel
Bar of the American Hotel
Another view of the bar inside the American Hotel
Behind the bar at the American Hotel
Painting behind the American Hotel Bar by Sylvia Winslow
Behind the bar at the American Hotel
Pot-bellied stove (for warmth) in the dining room of the American Hotel. On the metal-tiled wall is a photograph of Jody Stewart Patterson, owner of Cerro Gordo from 1984 until her death in 2001
Cooking stove in the kitchen of the American Hotel
Wash room off the kitchen of the American Hotel
Original 1916 electrical wiring inside the American Hotel. That's the year electricity and telephones came to Cerro Gordo
Dining room of the American Hotel
Detail of the woodwork in the dining room of the American Hotel
An argument over a card game at the American Hotel could easily lead to murder. Cerro Gordo of the 1870s was about as lawless as Los Angeles had been in the 1850s and '60s. On the wall at left is a replica of a wanted poster for Billy Crapo, who in 1892 committed the mining camp's last murder. Despite a $500 reward he was never apprehended
Kitchen of the American Hotel
Butcher block in the kitchen of the American Hotel
Ice box in the American Hotel
In July 2020 the American Hotel was destroyed by a fire.
Brent Underwood looking over the American Hotel fire ruins
Remains of American Hotel wood stove
Overlooking the burned American Hotel in the town of Cerro Gordo
Overlooking the remains of the burned American Hotel
Since the hotel burned, Brent Underwood, owner of Cerro Gordo, has been working to rebuild the hotel to modern construction standards. This involved a concrete foundation/basement, a fire sprinkler system which required a large water tank, and the use of heavy duty construction equipment. A number of qualified groups of people have helped as shown in the videos below. The new hotel building is fully framed as of early 2024 so now the finishing starts. Owner Brent Underwood has an on-going video channel at Ghost Town Living and Ghost Town Two which provide a tremendous amount of information about the town and where you can keep up with progress.
Cerro Gordo souvenirs are available on-line at the Cerro Gordo Store.
Restoration of American Hotel - 3 year time lapse
Installation of water tank for American Hotel Fire Suppression System