Built in 1859 by Benoni Thompson, the Rough and Ready Toll House collected tolls for use of the Gephardt Union Turnpike, which ran 6 miles from Penn Valley to Grass Valley. The last remaining original toll house in the West, it also served as a Wells Fargo Express office and stage stop, and was the secret rendezvous place of Joaquin Murietta and Lola Montez.