“Great Historic Hotel. We will be back.” — Bill and Pat Kievning, Concord CA

he proprietors and staff of the Gunn House Hotel welcome you to the most historic Inn, in Sonora. The hotel is named for Dr. Lewis C. Gunn, a native Philadelphian who was lured to the area to seek his fortune in the California gold mines. Recognizing the vast beauty of the terrain, he settled in Sonora, where using local labor he built the area's first two-story adobe building as his home and subsequently as his place of business after failing as a gold prospector. In the early 1850’s Dr. Gunn started the Mother Lode’s first newspaper. It was called the

Sonora Herald. During his tenure as owner and publisher Dr. Gunn's presence and editorials persistently created controversy among the towns-people. The unflattering controversy culminated with an angry crowd burning the paper's printing press. more...

Your Inn...Our House

Since Gunn’s departure the house has been expanded well beyond the original two-story adobe core. For a while it served as a hospital. Later it was re- christened the Hotel Rosa Italia