From Gold Rush Inn to California's Newest City: The Story of Mountain House
Every Mountain House resident knows the name — but few know the story behind it. The history of Mountain House stretches back to the California Gold Rush, and it starts with a man, a tent, and a mountain pass.
1849: The Tent at the Pass
In 1849, a man named Thomas Goodall erected a large blue denim cloth tent at the eastern base of what was then called Livermore Pass (later renamed Altamont Pass). The location was strategic: it sat roughly halfway between San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada gold fields, making it a natural resting point for the thousands of forty-niners streaming eastward to seek their fortunes.
Goodall offered food, refreshments, and a place to rest. The tent became known simply as the stopping point "at the mountain" — and the name stuck.
The Adobe House
Soon after, Goodall — with the assistance of local American Indians, likely members of the Cholbon tribelet of the Northern Valley Yokuts — built a more permanent adobe structure on the site. He called it "The Mountain House." It was the first permanent structure in the area that would eventually bear its name.
The Mountain House became a well-known way station for gold miners, stockmen driving cattle through the pass, rancheros, stagecoach passengers, and immigrants. At its peak, it was a bustling hub of Gold Rush-era commerce.
Zimmerman's Mountain House
Goodall eventually sold the property to Simon Zimmerman, who expanded and improved the establishment. Under Zimmerman's management, it became known as "Zimmerman's Mountain House" and grew into one of the most famous stops on the road to Stockton. The site also briefly housed the Elk Horn post office in 1852–1853.
Lincoln Highway and Beyond
The original adobe was torn down in 1880 and replaced with a one-story building. In 1915, the road passing in front of the Mountain House became part of the Lincoln Highway — America's first coast-to-coast paved highway. The building served various purposes over the decades: a hotel, a school, an ice cream parlor, and a gas station. Every business that operated at the site carried the name "Mountain House."
By 1940, the last remaining settlement buildings were demolished. Today, the Mountain House Bar & Grill sits on the original site at 16784 West Grant Line Road, with a Lincoln Highway Association historical marker dedicated in 2008.
The Yokuts Before the Gold Rush
Long before Goodall pitched his tent, the area was home to the Cholbon tribelet of the Northern Valley Yokuts. They inhabited permanent residences — oval-shaped single-family dwellings made of wooden pole frames covered with tule mats — and lived along the waterways of what is now western San Joaquin County.
Lammersville and the Pioneers
In 1876, settlers in the area established the Lammersville School — a one-room schoolhouse that educated farming families in northwestern San Joaquin County. This was two years before Tracy was even founded. The historic schoolhouse was saved by the West Side Pioneer Association and moved to Clyde Bland Park in Tracy, where it now hosts a living history program for third-grade students.
The Modern Community
The land that would become today's Mountain House was agricultural for over a century. In 1991, SunChase Holdings acquired the property. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors approved the new community in 1994. Construction began in 2001, and the first residents moved in by June 2003.
The community grew rapidly — from 9,677 residents in 2010 to over 24,000 by 2020. In March 2024, over 90% of Mountain House voters approved incorporation, and on July 1, 2024, Mountain House became California's 483rd incorporated city — the first new city in the state since 2011.
Today, with a population exceeding 30,000 and major new developments like The Lakes underway, Mountain House carries forward the spirit of that original roadside inn — a welcoming place where travelers stop, put down roots, and build something lasting.
Want to see the original site? The Mountain House Bar & Grill at 16784 W. Grant Line Road (technically in Alameda County) sits where Goodall's tent once stood. A Library of Congress photograph of the original building exists in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS CA-1199).