First State Capital
The first California State Legislature met on this site in 1849. San Jose was designated State Capital at the Constitutional Convention in Monterey after intensive lobbying by local representatives. The town made every effort to accommodate the Legislature, but the statehouse could not be readied on time, hotel facilities were inadequate, and an unusually wet winter caused flooding, making downtown streets impassable. The behavior of the legislators themselves earned the 1849 session the title “The Legislature of 1000 Drinks,” This inauspicious start, and pressure from communities eager to gain the status of capital for themselves, led to the legislators decision to move to Vallejo following their second and final meeting in San Jose in 1851.
Marker is on South Market Street south of West San Fernando Street, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
