Benicia State Capitol, The
Benicia State Capitol, The

Author: James E. Lessenger

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1467143847

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In February 1853, Benicia was chosen as the third capital of the new state of California. Along with San Jose, Vallejo and Sacramento, Benicia had been vying for the honor of hosting the legislature, and competition was fierce. Benicia was not the first choice, nor did it have what many politicians considered critical amenities, but it had something the others didn't: a beautiful, Greek-style capitol building available for use. Political rivalries and land disputes would eventually cause Sacramento to be awarded the capital, but for nearly thirteen months, Benicia held that distinction. Author James E. Lessenger provides an inside look at the politics at play in the fledgling Golden State and their effect on the ambitions of Benicia.

Benicia
Benicia

Author: Julia Bussinger

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738529332

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A special Bay light falls on beautiful Benicia, on the north shore of the Carquinez Strait. Two U.S. citizens, Robert Semple and Thomas Larkin, bought the land from Mexican Army General Mariano Vallejo for $100 and the promise to name it for Vallejo's wife in 1847. The next year a customer at Von Pfister's Benicia waterfront store let slip the secret of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill. Benicia's deep water harbor attracted Pacific Mail and Steamship Company, the first major California industry, the famous Matthew Turner shipyards, tanneries, and the Central Pacific Railroad, which made Benicia its transcontinental terminus. State legislators made the town their third state capital in 1853. That oldest surviving capitol building still stands along with many historic buildings, including the stately structures of a U.S. military base that began with the Benicia Barracks in 1849 and continued to serve until 1964.