Mokelumne Hill

Hotel Leger

The Hotel Leger was built in 1851 and was first known as the Hotel de France. It sits on a small hill which overlooks the Mokelumne River and is one of the most elegant inns of the Gold Country. George Leger, an immigrant from Hesse Kassel, Prussia, purchased the hotel on May 31 of 1853 from Alexis Yacht. It was destroyed by the fire of 1854. Leger rebuilt that same year, a one-story structure of brick and rhyolite blocks, and reopened for business. An adjoining building once served as the Calaveras County Courthouse, while Mokelumne Hill held the county seat. Leger acquired the building after the seat was lost and made it a part of his hotel. The building was damaged in the fire of 1874, after which Leger added a second story. The hotel’s lobby was the first place in town to have electric lights. The lights were strung out in front of the hotel when they were first illuminated, an event which most of the town turned out to see. The Hotel Leger has been known by several different names over its long history, such as the Hotel de Europa, the Union Hotel, the Grand Hotel, and the Hexter House.