Nevada's Oldest Hotel - Now Operating as Cafe & Bar Only
59 Main St, Austin, NV 89310
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Cafe entrees moderately priced; full bar at saloon. Hotel rooms upstairs are no longer in operation.
Access
Limited Access
High-desert main street, board sidewalk in places
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1863 · Comstock Era · Silver Boom · Oldest Hotel Building in Nevada
The International Hotel was originally erected in Virginia City during the Comstock Lode silver boom of the early 1860s. After silver was discovered in the Reese River canyon at Austin in 1862, miners and merchants poured eastward across central Nevada. The hotel was disassembled in Virginia City, hauled approximately 163 miles overland, and reassembled in Austin in 1863. The reconstructed building became the first commercial structure in the new boomtown.
Austin's population peaked at roughly 10,000 during the silver rush, and the International served the era's typical hotel function: lodging, dining, and a full bar. The town declined as the Reese River silver veins played out in the late nineteenth century. By the twentieth century, Austin had stabilized as a small ranching and highway-services community along US Route 50.
The hotel itself ceased operating as overnight lodging years ago. The upstairs rooms are closed to the public. The ground floor, addressed as 59 Main Street, operates as the International Cafe & Saloon, advertised as Nevada's oldest hotel building. The cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner with seasonal hours. The saloon retains the original cherry-wood back bar.
Sources
The International's paranormal reputation centers on a single named figure. Local folklore identifies him as Tommy, a former owner or longtime employee whose specific dates are not recorded in available public sources.
Reports concentrate at the back end of the long cherry-wood bar, where bartenders and patrons have described the sense of someone seated where no one is, occasional glimpses of motion in the bar mirror, and brief cool sensations.
The upstairs hotel section, closed for years, is the second focus. Footsteps and the sound of objects being moved have been reported overhead during quiet evenings in the cafe. Staff have described a clunking sound from the upper floor when the building above is empty and the door to the stairs is locked.
The Original Report's description aligns closely with Tom McGonagle's well-documented history as Austin's longtime saloon-keeper, but published sources we located do not confirm the identification by full name. We list Tommy as folklore-attributed; the figure's life and death remain undocumented in public sources.
Notable Entities
Eat at the cafe operating in the 1863 hotel building, the oldest hotel structure in Nevada. The bar, where staff have reported the figure called Tommy at the far end, serves drinks and breakfast through dinner. The upstairs hotel rooms remain closed.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Virginia City, NV
The building at 76 North C Street in Virginia City, Nevada has operated as a saloon and entertainment venue under various names since the Comstock Lode era. Known at different periods as the Comstock House Hotel, Kitty's Longbranch, and the Red Dog Saloon, the property has been continuously occupied since the mid-19th century and sits in one of the American West's best-preserved Victorian mining towns.
Black Hawk, CO
The building at 111 Main Street in Black Hawk dates to 1896, built by Julius Kline on the site of Black Hawk's first schoolhouse. The structure served various functions — school, hotel, rooming house — across the 19th and 20th centuries before reopening as a casino in 1992 following Colorado's legalization of limited-stakes gaming. Its Mine Shaft Bar in the basement was a local landmark across multiple ownership eras.
Tracy, CA
Banta Inn opened in 1879 as a two-story saloon serving the small farming community of Banta, just east of Tracy, California. A 1937 fire destroyed the upper floor, after which the building was rebuilt as a single-story bar and restaurant that has operated continuously since.