Benecia
California has had five (5) cities as its capital. Two of the cities were capital cities twice.
California was admitted to the Union as a free non slavery state on September 9, 1850 as the 31st state. California had two (2) capital cities before becoming part of the Union and has had a total of five (5) capital cities and one temporary capital city. The original capital building in Sacramento burned down and San Francisco became the temporary capital from January 24, 1862 until May 15, 1862. Benicia has the only remaining original capital building.
These cities were the capital cities:
Monterey – September 9, 1849 – October 13, 1849
San Jose - December 15, 1849 – May 1, 1851
Vallejo - January 5, 1852 – January 12, 1852
January 3, 1853 – February 4, 1853
Sacramento – January 16, 1852 – November 2, 1852
February 28, 1854 – to the Present
Benicia - February 11, 1853 – February 25, 1854
Benicia is a quaint town between Vallejo and Martinez. It has a very historic downtown district with historic buildings of early California and Victorian architecture, and a First Street walking tour (where many of the old buildings are located). Most of the buildings have a different functional use from how they were used in the 1800’s however, the architecture has been maintained.
The Capital building was restored to its original greatness. Inside the legislative quarters, which occupy two floors, there are hats on the desks which turned up or down symbolized a yes or no vote. There is one desk that is original the others are replicas. The equipment used to stamp the state seal is still there and useable however the seal part has been removed to prevent unauthorized use. There is only one pot belly to heat the entire building. There are pictures of the woman whom the town is named after. The original hand made glass remains in the windows. The original floor has the square pegs in the slats. The front door is still locked with the original (heavty) key. A relic of an unabridged dictionary remains on a desk in the downstairs legislative meeting room. There’s more history and artifacts in the old building.
Pictures I Took While In Benecia
