Chris dug up some great history on the building, so I pulled it into a little Halloween run for both accounts. Every fact here is checked against old Auburn Journal and Placer Herald stories and the city's records, so it's all safe to post. Use as much or as little as you like, and change anything you want.
Matt
01
Link in bio
Each site now has a history page. These are the links for bio, stories and replies.
The plaque out front says 1870. County records say the house may be ten years older. Either way, it was here before the courthouse across the street.
All week we're sharing the stories it has collected. The full history is at the link in our bio.
#OakhouseAuburn #AuburnCA #OldTownAuburn #AuburnHistory
The Lounge is the old basement, so this one is all hers.
Caption
Story goes a tunnel once ran from the courthouse to our basement, so prisoners could be moved out of sight. The archway's been sealed for a long time.
These days people take the stairs, on purpose. Open tonight till 10.
#TheLoungeAuburn #AuburnNightlife #AuburnCA #OldTownAuburn
The best-known ghost story. It comes from the restaurant that was here before.
Caption
Back when this was a different restaurant, servers kept seeing a woman in a shawl sitting in their section. They'd go grab a coworker, come back, and the seat would be empty.
Our tables are set tonight from 5. We'll keep a chair for her.
#OakhouseAuburn #AuburnCA #OldTownAuburn #AuburnHistory
StoryRepost it with a poll: "Would you take her seat?" Yes / Absolutely not.
BetterAn empty chair with a shawl over the back, by candlelight.
30Fri · Oct
The LoungePost or Reel
The ghost hunter who came up empty
A real 2006 investigation, told for laughs.
Caption
2006. A ghost hunter brings infrared and EMF readers down to our basement. He finds a window, a mirror and some dust. Then he goes upstairs and finds a cold spot.
Whatever haunts this place prefers dinner. We prefer the bar. Open tonight till 10.
#TheLoungeAuburn #AuburnNightlife #AuburnCA #Halloween
ReelStaff answering one question on camera: "Ever had a weird moment down here?" Real answers only, one line each.
31Sat · Oct
OakhouseThe LoungePost · both
The tall tale
Halloween. The best twist in the whole file. Tag each other.
Oakhouse caption
In 2006 the owner of the restaurant here at the time admitted he'd "kind of made up a story" when a TV station called asking about a ghost. Then a ghost hunter found a cold spot upstairs.
His words: "It's kind of funny it turned out to be real."
Happy Halloween. Believe what you like. Dinner is at five, and the story continues downstairs at @theloungeauburn.
#OakhouseAuburn #AuburnCA #Halloween #AuburnHistory
Lounge caption
The ghost story here started as a tall tale. Then it got a little too real.
Happy Halloween from downstairs. Open tonight till 10. Dinner's upstairs at @oakhouseauburn.
#TheLoungeAuburn #AuburnNightlife #Halloween #AuburnCA
On a phone: tap Download, then press and hold the photo to save it.
03
Extras, any day
Question box: "Ever seen anything strange at 130 Maple?" Reshare the good ones.
Poll: "Believe it?" Yes / Not a chance.
If the bar wants to play, Halloween drink names from the stories: The Shawl, Cold Spot, The Tunnel, The Blacksmith, Tall Tale.
04
Shot list
None of these exist yet, and every one would beat the stock picks above.
The plaque out front, close enough to read.
The whole front of the house at dusk with the lights on.
The stairs down to The Lounge at night.
The courthouse from the patio after dark.
The brick walls downstairs in low light.
An empty chair with a shawl over it, by candlelight.
05
The facts, for comments and DMs
On the record
The plaque says 1870. County records suggest about ten years earlier.
First owner: Walter B. Lyon, the county recorder. He also ran the Placer Weekly Argus newspaper.
1875: John White, a blacksmith, took it over. That's where the name comes from.
December 12, 1977: the first building on the City of Auburn's Register of Historic Places.
The courthouse across the street was built 1894 to 1898, so the house is older.
The Lounge is the old basement.
Legend, say "the story goes"
A tunnel ran from the courthouse to the basement to move prisoners.
The basement held prisoners waiting on court, maybe a juvenile pen in the late 1800s.
Servers at the old restaurant saw a woman in a shawl.
2006: a ghost hunter found nothing in the basement and a cold spot upstairs.
The owner then said he "kind of made up a story," and it "turned out to be real."
Two heads-ups. The building was remodeled top to bottom, so nobody knows where the old haunted table or the cold-spot corner is now. Best not to point at a spot.
The 2015 article also covers the Lyon family losing four children in the 1860s and 70s. Real kids, so we've kept them out of the spooky posts.
