HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
A Gold Rush hotel in Jamestown where staff credit a resident spirit named Flo for the small mischief
18183 Main St, Jamestown, CA 95327
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages for lodging and dining
Cost
$$$
Overnight rooms historically in the $140-160 range; on-site restaurant and saloon when operating
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story 1859 building with stairs to guest rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1859 · Gold Rush Hotel · One of California's Oldest Operating Hotels · Prohibition-Era Speakeasy · Mother Lode Heritage
The National Hotel opened in 1859 in Jamestown, a mining town in the southern Mother Lode of Tuolumne County. It was built during the Gold Rush to serve travelers and miners working the surrounding diggings, and it sits on Main Street among the surviving brick and frame buildings of the old commercial district.
The hotel survived two major fires, in 1901 and 1927, that swept through Jamestown as they did through many wooden Gold Country towns. During Prohibition it operated for a time as a speakeasy, fitting for a building whose ground floor has long included a saloon. By the mid-20th century the property had declined, and a comprehensive restoration began in 1974 that returned it to use as a hotel and restaurant.
Today the National Hotel offers nine guest rooms furnished with period antiques, including original furniture, pull-chain toilets, and queen beds, with rates that have run in the $140 to $160 range. The property has operated an on-site restaurant and a full saloon, with the dining program varying over the years.
The hotel bills itself as one of the oldest continuously operating hotels in the state. Its proximity to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and to Yosemite, roughly 24 miles away, makes it a common stop for travelers in the region, and its long history is the foundation for the ghost story the staff are happy to tell.
Sources
The National Hotel's ghost goes by Flo, short for Flora. As staff describe her to visitors and to reporters, she is a friendly resident spirit blamed for small, harmless disturbances. NBC Los Angeles featured the hotel's friendly ghost, and the FrightFind profile collects the same accounts: lights switching on and off, doors opening and closing on their own, and pots and pans found tipped over in the kitchen. Guests have also reported sudden cold spots and, occasionally, a glimpse of a woman in white who smiles before she is gone.
The folklore attaches a tragic origin story to Flo, set at the hotel's 1859 opening, but that backstory circulates as legend rather than documented record, and the staff present it as the kind of tale a Gold Rush hotel accumulates. What the hotel emphasizes is her disposition: she is treated as part of the house, not a threat to it.
The National Hotel leans gently into the story without turning itself into a haunted attraction. There are no formal ghost hunts; the lore comes through the staff, the occasional news segment, and guests who ask. For most visitors, Flo is an extra reason to book a night in a building that has stood on Main Street since 1859.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Book one of the National Hotel's nine antique-furnished guest rooms in the 1859 building. Guests and staff attribute lights switching, doors opening, and kitchen items being moved to a resident spirit known as Flo. Reservations through the hotel's own site or by phone.
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