Formerly: Granite Store (1852–1896) · Jake's Place (1896–1937)
Groveland, California · Founded 1896 · Building: circa 1852
A historic Tuolumne County saloon housed in an 1850s solid granite building featuring heavy iron fire doors.
The Iron Door Saloon operates in Groveland, California, in a stone structure built before 1852 and credited by the official state historical marker to Peter King. James Tannahill later purchased the building and served as Groveland's first postmaster there. It became a saloon known as Jake's Place in 1896 under Giacomo DeFarrari, and was renamed the Iron Door Saloon in 1937 after heavy iron fire doors were installed.
The Granite Store was built of solid granite in Big Oak Flat (later renamed Groveland). The official California historical marker and the NRHP nomination credit Peter King as builder.
Source: California Historical Marker (HMDB #53273); National Register of Historic Places nomination #95000265, Watts & Tannahill Company Store
James Tannahill became Groveland's first postmaster, running the post office out of the store he had purchased.
Source: Wikipedia, 'Iron Door Saloon'; U.S. Postal Service Historical Postal Records
Giacomo DeFarrari purchased the building and converted it into a saloon named Jake's Place.
Source: National Register of Historic Places nomination #95000265; California Historical Marker (HMDB #53273)
Heavy iron doors, manufactured in England, were installed for fire protection and the saloon was renamed 'The Iron Door Saloon'.
Source: California Historical Marker (HMDB #53273); sisterrain.net historical summary
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The building dates to before 1852, but it operated as a general store and post office, not a saloon, until Giacomo DeFarrari converted it in 1896. A local historian at the Groveland Historical Museum has also said the claim is effectively unprovable either way, since no liquor licenses were issued in that era and the property doesn't appear on Tuolumne County tax rolls as a saloon until 1896.
The granite walls and iron doors are real and would plausibly resist fire better than the area's typical wood-frame buildings, and this is a consistent part of local reputation and owner accounts. No source found documents a specific fire event, date, or record of the building actually being tested by one.
The Iron Door Saloon has operated continuously as a saloon since 1852.
The building was constructed before 1852 as the Granite Store, a general store and post office, and was not converted into a saloon until 1896.
Source: National Register of Historic Places nomination #95000265; KQED, '150 Years of Slinging Drinks: A Visit to the Iron Door Saloon'
James Tannahill built the Granite Store building.
The official California historical marker and the NRHP nomination credit Peter King as the builder. Tannahill purchased the property in the 1860s and served as Groveland's first postmaster there.
Source: California Historical Marker (HMDB #53273); National Register of Historic Places nomination #95000265
The Iron Door Saloon survives on the strength of its granite construction and a location on Highway 120, the primary gateway route to Yosemite National Park, which turned it into a famous highway stop for generations of park visitors. Its reputation for surviving regional fires is a well-worn part of the telling, though no source found documents a specific fire the building withstood.
The claim is disputed. The building dates to before 1852, but it operated as a general store and post office until 1896, when Giacomo DeFarrari opened it as a saloon called Jake's Place. A historian at the Groveland Historical Museum has said the broader claim can't really be proven, since no liquor licenses existed in that era to check against.
The official California historical marker and the National Register of Historic Places nomination credit Peter King as the builder of the original Granite Store, constructed before 1852. James Tannahill purchased the building in the 1860s and ran Groveland's post office from it; he did not build it.
The saloon was renamed in 1937 following the installation of heavy iron fire doors manufactured in England, which remain on the building's entrance today.
18761 Main St, Groveland, CA 95321
(209) 962-8904
Located on CA-120 en route to Yosemite; serves standard saloon fare.