Colton Hall Museum
Colton Hall Museum
4.5
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Built in 1849 to serve as a public school and town meeting hall, this historic building is now a museum open for public touring.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles74 reviews
Excellent
41
Very good
27
Average
6
Poor
0
Terrible
0

plok319928
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Family
Very interesting history on the birth of the state of CA. Very nice historical collection.
Very knowledgable personnel.
Written 15 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jennifer S
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
A lot of books and other museum items from the days California was establishing its own State constitution. Monterey was the capital of California at one time.
Written 7 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jeffrey k
Needham, MA587 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2021
For CA, this is one of the most important historical sites, the place where the state constitution was drafted. Staff are informative and helpful. It is on the historic site walk through central Monterey.
Written 2 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anonymous855
Trabuco Canyon, California1,712 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2021
We did a self-guided historic walk that took us past here. More impressive than I expected. Safe, good walk but since we didn't know the area we kept going in early evening.
Written 1 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wendy D
Plattsburgh, NY58 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2019
It was really fascinating to get a sense for the work that went into creating California's first constitution, and learn about the variety of people that contributed to its creation. The building is very well preserved. There's a small bookstore/gift shop. I spent about 30 minutes there.
Written 15 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stephanie C
Diamond Springs, CA249 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Friends
It really started here. So much history here! You can get a sense of what it must have been like when Monterey was THE place. Ships pulling in to off load goods from far away locations and people rushing to get news from the East. Go if you’re in town.
Written 3 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ras15
Arlington, Virginia USA66 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Couples
My goodness, but this small museum (one large room plus a little annex) packs in a lot of history, complete with actual and facsimile documents dealing with the state constitutional convention. One can readily imagine the delegates at work 170 years ago. The docent was quite informative and added to the high quality of the site. The park in front is very pretty and has some historical markers embedded in the walkway.
Written 11 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bob M
Santa Rosa, CA81 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Solo
Up until California became a state, Monterey was the capital of Alta [upper] California, and was the most important town. In 1849, the Constitutional Convention was held to create the State of California, however, Monterey was never the capital of California. It was about the time gold was discovered in the Sierras, and almost overnight, San Francisco became the prominent commercial hub, and Monterrey was almost deserted. Colton hall has been preserved much as it was when the constitution was signed, with documents and furniture being original. While the museum is fairly small, its importance to California history makes it a MUST SEE!
Written 4 February 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GRS-SJS
Sebastopol, CA1,285 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2018 • Couples
I really don't think a lot of Californians know the history of this site. There is a huge amount of California history on display. This is one stop on the Monterey walking history tour. There are a number of other sites within walking distance. Pick up the map and enjoy the history.
Written 1 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Matt
Los Alamos, CA27 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2018 • Family
The volunteer historians paint a vivid and colorful history of Monterey during their short presentations. A must do if visiting Monterey.
Written 26 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Colton Hall Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

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