Walter Colton

Born on May 9, 1797, in Rutland, Vermont, Walter Colton became a Congregational minister before entering the United States Navy as a chaplain. He is best remembered for serving in Monterey, California, where he took on the role of alcalde, a position that combined duties like those of a mayor and judge during the Mexican-American War era.

Colton played a visible part in early California public life. He helped found The Californian, the first newspaper printed in California, and he oversaw the construction of Colton Hall in Monterey, the building later associated with California's first constitutional convention. His experiences in the region became the basis for Three Years in California, a lively firsthand account that helped introduce many readers to California before and during its transformation under U.S. rule.

He also wrote about naval life, including Deck and Port, bringing together the reflective voice of a clergyman and the observations of a traveler. Colton died in 1851, but his writing remains valuable for its close-up view of everyday life, politics, and culture in early nineteenth-century California.