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The Washoe House, Stony Point Road
The oldest roadhouse in California is the Washoe House near Petaluma. Originally built as a stagecoach stop, this Sonoma County landmark has been serving customers since 1859 when the upstairs was a brothel. It was from the upstairs balcony that General Ulysses S. Grant made a speech to the locals rallying them to the Union cause.
In 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Major James Armstrong's Petaluma Militia rode north intent on wreaking vengeance on Confederate sympathizers. After stopping at this tavern they encountered some Santa Rosa Copperheads and were turned back. This incident became known as The Battle of Washoe House.
More recently a scene of the 1999 Clint Eastwood movie, True Crime was filmed at Washoe House. Today patrons of the roadhouse sit below several thousand dollar bills stapled to the ceiling by generations of drinkers. The ancient, dusty bills are there to be used in case of a patron's unexpected cash-flow emergency.
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1 Comments:
Ah yes, the Washoe House...
About 25 years ago I lived not far from there in the tiny town of Hessel, which isn't far from the even more obscure town of My.
I can only remember being in the bar once, and that was at the insistance of a buddy who claimed that they had the best gin-and-tonics in the western hemisphere. I don't know about that, but all the memoriabelia stuck all over the place was certainly interesting. It's amazing it has survived all these years.
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