Diamond Springs Tutors Come To You

It was the Gold Rush era that put Diamond Springs, California, on the map. The town sprung up when pioneers traveling along the Carson Emigrant Trail stopped to rest and decided to stay. They liked the pasture land and the abundant, clear spring water that sparkled like diamonds (from which the town took its name). The town cemented its importance when a twenty-five-pound gold nugget was found there, convincing settlers to stay and construct the town’s first clapboard buildings. In 1860, with a population over 500, Diamond Springs became a stop on the Pony Express route and a major stage coach route. Businesses were established, and children were taught by the first Diamond Springs tutors and schoolteachers. When the Transcontinental Railroad was built, however, the track was laid considerably north of the town, limiting its growth.

Diamond Springs now attracts tourists instead of gold miners. It welcomes visitors to its restaurants, antique stores—and its haunted hotel.

Hang around much the Diamond Springs Hotel (now a restaurant), and visitors will undoubtedly hear about “strange happenings.” Built in 1916, the hotel went through many owners and uses: a hotel, a saloon, perhaps a brothel, and a restaurant. Before the building was built, the land was a burial ground for Northern Miwok and Southern Nisenans Indians, then a camp for weary miners hoping to strike it rich in Gold Country.

The hotel’s current owners bought the hotel not knowing about the ghosts. Strange, unexplainable things began happening. For example, while working upstairs in the empty building, they heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Another time, the owner brought her two sons through the hotel, and a guest commented on the three children. The guest had seen the two boys and purportedly a ghost—a little blonde girl wearing a yellow sundress.

That same little girl has been seen by others, including paranormal investigators, who, over the years, have flocked to the hotel to conduct research. Psychics, radio DJs, and news reporters have also come to document these “unregistered guests.” The ghostly happenings occur mostly in the quiet hours between meals and especially in the unused rooms upstairs. These include the following:

– Children’s footsteps or banging and groaning upstairs
– Chairs moving eerily away from the table, as if a ghost were preparing to sit down
– The smell of musty cigar smoke (smoking is not allowed in the restaurant)
– The smell of roses or perfume
– A locked gate opening by itself, then closing (shown on a security video camera)
– A glimpse of a man wearing a pasty-colored, striped shirt
– A ghostly man sitting at a table with his black dog
– A faucet turning itself on and off

The owners and staff have resigned themselves to the existence of the ghosts, saying they welcome all to their restaurant! Local students will be enticed by the stories—a great way to learn history with their Diamond Springs tutors and teachers.