author
Walter Colton
1797–1851
Best remembered as Monterey’s first American alcalde, he was a Vermont-born clergyman, naval chaplain, journalist, and writer whose life bridged pulpit, press, and public office. His books drew on years of travel and service, giving readers a firsthand glimpse of the early American West and life at sea.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Vermont in 1797, Walter Colton built an unusually varied career as a minister, editor, and writer. He studied at Yale and later at Andover Theological Seminary, then worked in journalism before serving as a chaplain in the United States Navy.
Colton is especially associated with early California. After arriving in Monterey in 1846, he became the town’s first American alcalde, a role that combined duties of mayor and judge. He also helped publish The Californian, widely noted as California’s first newspaper in the American period.
Alongside his public work, he wrote books shaped by travel, naval life, and his California years, including Ship and Shore, A Visit to Constantinople and Athens, Deck and Port, and Three Years in California. He died in 1851, leaving behind a career that linked literature, religion, and the turbulent early history of California.