Old Hornitos Schoolhouse

The Hornitos Schoolhouse is located at the southern end of town near El Dorado Creek. It was built in the 1860s and served the town and surrounding area for many decades until the present schoolhouse was erected.

Unknown Adobe Walled Building

Looks like a sort of barn or shed.

Rocky Point Ranch

This home looks like it might have once been a store of some sort.

Old Wooden House

This old wood house is on its last legs.

Wells Fargo Office

The standing wall is the likely the only remaining portion of the Wells Fargo building that was constructed in 1854. The plaque briefly describing it is located about 150 feet north of the stone wall.

Hornitos Masonic Lodge

Built in 1855 (some sources say 1852), the abode and native schist rock building was originally the High Tone Saloon. As the wild days of Hornitos was passing, the Quartzburg Lodge of Masons (chartered on May 8, 1856) purchased the building in August 1873 (some sources have it as 1860) and started meeting in Hornitos from early 1875. Due to a special sanction of the Grand Lodge, the Hornitos Masons were the only lodge in CA permitted to hold their meetings on the ground floor.

Plaza Adobe

This building was constructed in 1855 and originally operated as a store. A fire damaged the store in 1868 and 1873. After the latter fire, George Reeb moved his meat market to this building, which operated until his death in 1913. The Plaza Bar was opened in this building in 1940.

Hornitos Plaza

The Mexican origin of Hornitos is made apparent by the small plaza near the center of the town.

Hornitos Cafe

The Cafe is long closed. A number of wanted posters for the bandit Joaquin Murrieta are displayed on the front door window. Joaquin Murrieta was known to frequent the fandango halls and saloons in Hornitos when not running from the law. He is believed to have beem killed near Arroyo de Cantua northeast of Coalinga on July 23, 1853.

Pacific Saloon

Built of simple adobe construction in 1851, the Pacific Saloon is one of the original buildings facing the town plaza. The saloon was a favorite meeting place for large groups of local French miners. Samuel McClathchy purchased the Pacific Saloon in 1862, removed its old canopy, and added brick trim around the door, windows, and corners.

Merick's Bakery and Saloon

This thick-walled adobe building adjoins the rear of Pacific Saloon. Built in 1851 as a general store, the building was bought by Mrs. Merck in 1860 and became a bakery and saloon.

Ghirardelli & Co

The lower section of this building has originally constructed in 1855 and built of dressed schist and adobe walls. Domenico Ghirardelli hoped to cash in on some of the gold being mined and opened a general store to serve the miners' needs, including his chocolate recipes. After three years of running a successful business, Ghirardelli sold the store and returned to San Francisco to devote himself to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company he had previously established in that city. The original store was then used as an amusement hall and saloon.

Oddfellows Hall

A brick upper floor was added to what was once Ghirardelli's Store sometime after he sold it, which then housed the local Oddfellows Lodge. No information as to when the Oddfellows left Hornitos.

Hornitos Fixer Upper

Hornitos has a number of homes in various states of disrepair.

Hornitos Jail

Likely built in 1851 by Chinese coolies quarrying and carting granite blocks from the nearby hills. The solidly-built stone jail had walls two feet think and fourteen feet in length. The massive iron doors were imported from England and two tiny windows (one foot square) were added to opposite walls to allow for a cross-breeze. A guardhouse (now gone) was erected flush to the jail. Inside, the jail had a large iron ring embedded in its center and iron rings affixed to the walls for shackling prisoners. The jail was intended to hold prisoners until the local Justice of the Peace heard their case. If a trial was required, the prisoner was transported to Mariposa.

The window that appears to be blocked up on the front of the jail must have been added (and sealed) sometime after 1922. There's a photo from that year which does not show a sealed window.

The story of China John in the 1860s illustrates the racism that Chinese miners faced in late 19th century CA. While working his claim, China John was harrassed day after day by young white boys who threw rocks at the miner. Tried of the hassle, China John pulled out an old pistol and shot into the nearby hillside to frighten the boys. Unfortunately the bullet richocheted off a rock and grazed a boy's leg. Upset that he shot a white boy, nearby miners grabbed China John and hauled him to the plaza for the purpose of lynching the Chinaman. Officials were able to calm the mob own with a promise of a trial and jailed China John. The Chinese miner was not considered dangerous so he was not shackled inside the jail. That night, several men surprised and tied up the guard. They somehow lured China John to the window (perhaps with an offer of drugs or tobacco), tossed a noose around his neck, and repeatedly pulled China John, thereby bashing his brains against the rock wall. By morning, the dead Chinaman was found lying broken in a pool of blood beneath the window with the noose still knotted around his neck. No one ever paid for that brutal murder. In 1902, a coating of lime was applied to the inside wall to cover China John's bloodstains.

Cassaretto Store

Built in 1851, this stone and adobe building was originally a Mexican store (and, possibbly, dance hall). It was later purchased by an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Cassaretto in the 1850s. Cassaretto added iron doors and stocked it with miners' necessities. The building also served as the town's post office for a time.

Cavagnaro's General Mercantile

Built around 1859, Carlo Cavagnaro's General Mercantile sold everything from food and clothing to medicines and lumber. The old green gas pump indicated that it also once sold gasoline.

Gagliardo & Co Store

Built in 1860 (another source says 1854), Guiseppe Gagliardo bought the red brick building with 18 inch thick walls and iron doors in 1869. The store sold everything from shirts, hats, and corsets to beans, coffee, cheese, garden tools, and seeds. Guiseppe ran the store until his death in 1932. His daughter, Eugenia "Jenny", then took over the store she had worked since being 15 and ran it until her death in 1960 at the age of 90. The store closed after her death and remained that way for more than forty years. Ruth and David Latona now run the store as the Hornitos Gift Shop.

Opium Den

Although it looks like an old barn, the abode portion of the front wall hides what once was the opium den frequented by many of the Chinese miners in the area. The back wall of the room was lined with bunks upon which opium users would recline as they smoked themselves into oblivion or dreams. The sides and top appear to be later add-ons. One of the side sheds currently houses an old truck and gas pump.

Unknown Ruined Doorway

This ruined doorway is found on the north end of Hornitos, in the area likely to be the remains of the Hornitos Chinatown where up to 2,000 Chinese lived during the town's heydays.

Hornitos Ruins

These ruins are located at roughly 200 yards north of Chinatown Alley, so they may or may not be associated with the Hornitos Chinatown.

St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church

St. Catherine's Catholic Church was built in 1862. The church was built of wood in the Greek Revival style. The stone buttresses and foundation were added during the 1930s repairs to stabilize the church, especially considering the occasional strong winds. Crumbling remains of the original hornitos, the above ground rock and adobe graves, can still be found in the cemetery behind the church.

Animals of Hornitos

In our visits to Hornitos, we have seen more animals about than people.

Hornitos Cemeteries

The main Hornitos Cemetery is located behind the Catholic Church on a hill northeast of the town. A small cemetery for Oddfellows can be seen to the northeast of the main cemetery and is fairly inaccessible (lots of cow patties on the ground when we visited).