Colton Hall & Jail, Pacific Street, between Madison & Jefferson Streets, Monterey, Monterey County, CA

Structure is associated with the constitution of the State of California.
Significance: The building was the first public building constructed in Monterey after the conquest of California, and it housed the Convention which drafted the Constitution under which California was admitted to Statehood. / California was admitted to Statehood in Sept. 9, 1850, as a result of the constitution drafted in this hall between September 1 and October 18, 1848. Colton had been Chaplain on the USS Congress under Commodore John D. Sloat, and Alcade for the Town of Monterey 1846, the first and only American Alcade of Monterey. / The hall takes its name from Rev. Walter Colton who built it in the years 1847-1849. It is constructed of white stone quarried in the immediate area. This stone has been plastered over and painted. The adjoining jail with its vaulted ceiling is of granite construction and was completed in 1854. Entrance to the second floor was originally by the existing stairway in the rear. The lower floor was used as a school and the upper floor as an assembly hall. California was admitted to statehood September 9, 1850, as a result of the constitution drafted in this hall between September 1 and October 15, 1849.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-46
Survey number: HABS CA-130
Building/structure dates: 1847- 1848 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1854 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after. 1880- before. 1889 Subsequent Work