Victorian-Era Dining Room Where a Child Died in 1870
6115 Main St, Clayton, CA 94517
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Dinner entrees and chophouse pricing; reservations recommended
Access
Wheelchair OK
Flat, paved Main Street access with interior dining
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1870 · Gold Rush Era · California Mining History · Victorian Commercial Architecture
Clayton, California was established in 1857 and developed as a supply and commercial town for the coal mining operations centered in the Mount Diablo foothills — particularly the Black Diamond Mine area near Somersville, which produced coal from the 1860s through the early 1900s.
The Growler building at 6115 Main Street was constructed in 1870 as a private residence. Over subsequent decades it served as a store, post office, and saloon — a pattern of adaptive reuse common to surviving structures in California mining towns, where buildings changed function with economic cycles. In 1975, the Growler building was connected to an adjacent 1898 office building to create the restaurant space that is now Moresi's Chophouse, according to Pioneer Publishers, the Clayton-area local newspaper.
Moresi's Chophouse has operated at this address since 2007, serving as a contemporary steakhouse in a historic Downtown Clayton structure. As of early 2026, the restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 4pm, with reservations available through OpenTable.
Sources
Pioneer Publishers, the local Clayton newspaper, documented the legend of the Growler building in its coverage of Clayton's paranormal history. According to the account, during the era when Main Street was a rough mining-town thoroughfare, a dispute at a nearby establishment ended in gunfire. A stray bullet struck a girl on the street outside. Bystanders carried her into the Growler building, where she died.
The apparition associated with this incident is described as a girl in a white dress with a veiled hat. Pioneer Publishers reports that witnesses have seen her moving through the building's hallway, appearing in mirrors, and hiding behind curtains. Cold air anomalies have been reported in her vicinity.
The blood stain described in the Shadowlands narrative — said to persist on the floor and resist removal — is part of the local legend but was not independently corroborated in Pioneer Publishers' account, which focuses on the apparition sightings.
The story is distinct from the Clayton Club Saloon (formerly the Eagle Saloon), another haunted building on Clayton's Main Street that is documented separately. The two locations are often conflated in online aggregators but occupy different structures.
Notable Entities
Dine in the 1870 Growler building on Clayton's historic Main Street, where a stray bullet during a Gold Rush-era saloon dispute struck a girl on the street outside. She was carried inside and died in this room. The dinner menu focuses on steaks and classic chophouse fare; the building's antique floors and interior retain the character of the original structure.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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