History

The Cary House Hotel, built in 1857, was the vision of William Cary. The three story brick building was the finest hotel in the gold country. The hotel, built with a brick exterior, was as fireproof as possible, a unique quality in the old west. Originally, the hotel had 77 guest rooms and a bathroom on every floor which had hot and cold running water. The lobby was elegantly appointed with a grand staircase and finished with rich mahogany and cherry woods.

In the early years the Cary House was a stage stop for travelers through Placerville. Nearly 90 million dollars in bullion passed through the Cary House from the Motherlode and the Nevada Comstock.  Horace Greely once gave a campaign speech from the beautiful wrought iron balcony.
After changing hands many times the Cary House was purchased by the Raffetto Family in 1911. In 1915 the building was demolished and rebuilt with the same bricks to become the Hotel Placerville. In 1926 the name was changed to the Raffles Hotel which remained until the 1970’s when the Milton Family restored the historic landmark to its original elegance and returned it’s original name ‘The Cary House.'.

Historic Cary House Hotel
300 Main Street, Placerville, CA 95667
Tele: (530) 622-4271     Fax: (530) 622-0696
manager@caryhouse.com