Colton Hall Museum and Jail

Historic building for California being formalized legally as a state. Docent was friendly and informative, and jail was small 👌 as there weren't as many criminals in those days 😊

We went here as part of Christmas in the Adobes. It's in beautiful condition and is where the California Constitution was signed. We learned that the Constitution was written in both English and Spanish and had both Anglo and Mexican-Spanish represetatives. representatives. The hall was nicely lit and decorated for Christmas.

Monterey has a rich history and Colton Hall and the Old Monterey Jail are a "must see." You can see old graffiti scratched into the stones in the back of the jail. If you want, you can go to the museum, or just stroll around the whole area. I love the bear sculptures and the seal of California in front of the buildings. There are different garden areas and a lot of beautiful old stone work.

Free parking in front and in the lot in back. The museum is upstairs. Large hall with artifacts and reproductions of the California constitution. Great docent who gave us a tour of the museum. The jail is next door and down stairs, Self guided and fun.

This is a very interesting stop to make while in Monterey. You can view the first Constitution since this is where it all started. We were lucky enough to meet Liz there who explained it all so well. The old Jail is cool too.

Are the employees of this establishment paid to yell their political opinions at the guests? If not, someone needs to tell the activist working there to STFU. 1/17/26

Amazing history. A must see when in Monterey...

Small but historically important free museum. Plan on about 15 minutes. It's mostly about creating the State constitution. Also a nice view out the balcony. Worth a visit. Did I mention it was FREE?

We drove from Sacramento to visit the museum, having an interest in California history. Despite seeing on a few websites that the museum is open from 10-4 daily, that is apparently not the case. Using COVID as an excuse, the museum's hours are extremely limited. It appears that the museum is available for school field trips, per the young lady who claimed not to work at the museum, but my perception is that it really doesn't cater to just plain tourists. I strongly suggest calling before trying to go here--don't depend on any website.

It's a tiny museum, an interesting bit of history in a great setting, and well presented. There's not much to learn from displays, but the docent was friendly and told us all about it. And it's free!

This is a tiny museum strongly focused on the constitution process that made California a state. They have a large lot behind the building to park in along with street parking which as this isn't near cannery row is do-able most times of day. While there are no real issues with parking, this part of monterey offers pleasurable walking. This looks like a city hall/courthouse which in point of fact it was for awhile, along with being the first state capitol building. The walkway in has milestones of cali history set in the paving, and there are some bear sculptures that children can't resist climbing on. Great spot for picnics and selfies. Inside it looks just like what it was-a working space where the California constitution was hammered out. Lots of 1850's office technology with copies of the working drafts scattered around. While children will get bored in about five minutes -that's what all that space outside is for, to let them run around in-there is a lot of densely packed history on display, some of which is very surprising and relevant today. So while this isn't a must do-if you are only in town a few hours it's skip able- if you have interest in how the world of today was formed this spot has excellent resources to get you started. Otherwise enjoy the bear sculptures.

Who knew that Colton Hall is THE place to learn about our states history? This was such a random fine, as we were waiting for the art museum across the street to open we decided to walk over and spend no more than 15 minutes here. We ended up hanging out for over 2 hours! And never had I learned so much about California! Not in school, a book anything! Copies of our original constitution can be seen here as well other important documents. The building and the surrounding gardens are beautiful and worth stopping in for. If you have kids, or act like a kid then this a must see.

I'm a fan of historical sites, and a fan of preserving them - 4 stars! Plus it's free! As a museum, it rates about a 2. Not much to see - the building is nice as are the grounds - it's basically one room where they wrote CA's constitution. The next paragraph is a paste from Kim S. who wrote a solid review- Colton Hall was built in the 1840s. Shortly after its construction 48 delegates to California's Constitutional Convention met in the second floor assembly hall in 1849. The City of Monterey restored the building and the meeting room is preserved as it looked during those six weeks in September and October, 1849. Thanks to the delegates deliberations, California entered the Union as the 31st state in 1850. It was a school at one time, and housed the jail. The entrance to the cells is on the back of the building - good to check out. There's a timeline for the history of CA on the walkway which was interesting. The room is original but everything in it is a re-creation, and you could get the history info online I'm sure - so it's really just checking out the building and the jail. The re - creation of the does give you a pretty good idea of what it must have been like. I appreciated the maps and the copies of other State's Constitutions they were using as a guideline. 10-20 minutes max. for a visit here. As Kim S. stated, I agree it's not a place you would go out of your way, or make a special trip to see. It's a good, quick stop if you are into historical sites, and are seeing other things in the area - and it's free, so why not check it out!!

Such a beautiful building, tons of SIGNIFICANT history about our fantastic state of California! If you're in Monterey and you appreciate history, do NOT miss this. Shout-out to Tyler, the awesome docent who was a pro about sharing the history of Colton Hall and Monterey/California with us. You really helped make our roadtrip even better, Tyler, you rock! And thanks for the recommendation about Rosine's!

If you're checking out Monterey's historical sites, this is a must-do. Colton Hall was built in the 1840s. Shortly after its construction 48 delegates to California's Constitutional Convention met in the second floor assembly hall in 1849. The City of Monterey restored the building and the meeting room is preserved as it looked during those six weeks in September and October, 1849. Thanks to the delegates deliberations, California entered the Union as the 31st state in 1850. So while there's not tons to see in the museum, what's there is pretty cool. Plus I do believe it's free, so you might as well stop by. Open: daily 10am-4pm, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Update- Someone asked me why I only gave it 3 stars.... Well, I gave it 3 in regards to it not being somewhere I'd recommend going out of your way to visit. I guess I did say above that it's a must see, but it's a must see only if you're into historical locations. It's fairly significant place history-wise, and they've made it look cool with historical props etc. which is great. However, overall there isn't much to actually look at - I could probably spend 10 minutes there max. And so the reality is that I wouldn't recommend it to someone who's not a history/museum nut.

Wow! Tons of people, beautiful weather... 4th of July action and performances from all over! Whats not to like! FTW ;D

This humble but beautiful structure sheltered the original drafters of the California constitution. Colton Hall is still functional housing some city offices. According to the guide, the Hall never burned down so the same wooden floors beneath your feet is the same wooden floors that California's earliest statesmen stepped on. The building and the grounds it sits on are very picturesque.

I really enjoyed paying the Colton Hall a visit. Why did I never learn any of that in my history classes? Who knew the California Constitution was signed right here in Monterey! So awesome. The jail house next door is also a cool site. It won't take you too long to look through both of these areas, I would say about 30 minutes tops. Enjoy!