Colton Hall Museum
Visit the building where the State of California was born
Built to serve as a public school and town meeting hall, Colton Hall now offers visitors a re-creation of the meeting room where California's first Constitution was drafted in October 1849 and exhibits on early Monterey. Colton Hall is a landmark in the City of Monterey, once the capital of Alta California.The Colton Hall Museum provides a place for learning and enjoyment focused on its core exhibits as the site of California's 1849 bilingual constitution leading to statehood and one of California's first dedicated schools and town halls during the early America period. It also offers a charming historic venue for public programs and events, including the annual Evening Music Concerts, California Constitutional Convention Reenactment, and Christmas in the Adobes, and much more.
Location and Hours
Colton Hall Museum is located at 570 Pacific St. Monterey, CA 93940
Hours are Thursday - Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Considered one of the most historic buildings in California, Colton Hall is the birthplace of the State of California. Home of the California Constitutional Convention of 1849, visit the site where 48 delegates debated the decisions that made California a free state. See original documents, artifacts, and even walk on the same floor as the delegates. Colton Hall Museum is located upstairs with an ADA accessible elevator and parking available in the rear. For questions or to schedule a school tour, please call (831) 646-5648, or email museumpt@monterey.org.
Walter Colton, Three Years in California

About the photo: Soon after the American occupation of California in 1846, the Reverend Walter Colton was appointed to serve as Alcalde or Chief Magistrate of the Monterey district. Reverend Colton, a U.S. Navy chaplain, served as the first American Alcalde in California from 1846 until 1849.
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Early Monterey

Constitutional Convention

Old Monterey Jail