diff --git a/LEVELDB.txt b/LEVELDB.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a0fcca658a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LEVELDB.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+
+To use LevelDB, follow these steps:
+
+1) Obtain the latest LevelDB package from http://code.google.com/p/leveldb/
+1.9.0 is known to work. Build it.
+
+2) In the SConstruct file, change "LevelDB = bool(0)" to
+"LevelDB = bool(1)".
+
+3) In your main directory, create a 'leveldb' directory with 'include' and
+'lib' subdirectories.
+
+4) In the 'leveldb/lib' file, place the 'libleveldb.a' file you built.
+
+5) Make a 'levedb/include/leveldb' directory. Place the leveldb header files
+(leveldb.h, slice.h, and so on) in this directory. 
+
+6) Compile with 'scons'.
+
+There is no import or export method, so your server will have to refetch
+all nodes. For simplicity, we recommend clearing your entire 'db' directory.
+LevelDB will store the hash nodes in a 'db/hashnode' directory.
+
+
diff --git a/src/cpp/ripple/Application.cpp b/src/cpp/ripple/Application.cpp
index 7646136d27..c55a14d104 100644
--- a/src/cpp/ripple/Application.cpp
+++ b/src/cpp/ripple/Application.cpp
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ void Application::setup()
 #ifdef USE_LEVELDB
 	leveldb::Options options;
 	options.create_if_missing = true;
-	leveldb::Status status = leveldb::DB::Open(options, (theConfig.DATA_DIR / "hashnode.ldb").string(), &mHashNodeDB);
+	leveldb::Status status = leveldb::DB::Open(options, (theConfig.DATA_DIR / "hashnode").string(), &mHashNodeDB);
 	if (!status.ok() || !mHashNodeDB)
 	{
 		cLog(lsFATAL) << "Unable to open/create hash node db";