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What is the oldest metropolis in California? It is sophisticated

“Located in Benicia, California, this historic Capitol building is the oldest state building in California.” (Getty Images)

(NEXSTAR) – California has been a part of the United States since September 8, 1850 – but do you know which of the Golden State’s cities is the oldest?

Well, it depends on what we mean by “eldest”. When we discuss which physical city is ahead of the others, the answer is different than when we discuss which California city legally became a city on paper.

As the Library of Congress explains, California officially became the 31st state in 1850 under the signature of Pres. Millard Fillmore. This means that several areas that were already somehow established became “first” cities at the same time.

In truth, the state’s indigenous communities predate our modern city names. But as the area neared statehood, the following cities emerged as contenders for the title of oldest in modern-day California.

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San Jose

Technically, according to Brittanica, the pueblo of San Jose was founded by Spanish founder José Joaquin Moraga in November 1777 as the state’s first known civil settlement. The pueblo then called San José (note that the accent mark was later dropped) functioned as a trading and agricultural center for nearby military posts.

San Jose was also the capital of California briefly from 1849 to 1852 when it was relocated to Vallejo.

Today, the oldest remnant of the city’s Pueblo days resides in historic Peralta Adobe, also known as Pueblo Numero Uno. According to the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, the house dates back to 1797 and its condition and furnishings are said to resemble how it might have been at the time.

Benicia

This Bay Area city may be the smallest of the cities on this list, but its history is just as rich.

Located in Solano County, Benicia was founded in 1849, according to the City of Benicia. While that date excludes it from the contest for “oldest” city, it is still included because it was already incorporated at the time of California’s accession to the United States

Benicia was also California’s third state capital after facilities in Vallejo were not yet ready for the legislature. The Benicia Public Library explains that the California government moved to Benicia City Hall in February 1853, where operations remained for a year.

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San Diego

1922 scholarly books from the American Historical Society refer to the city of San Diego itself as “the birthplace of California.”

As Clarence Alan McGrew, author of City of San Diego and San Diego County: The Birthplace of California explains, Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo first discovered the coast of San Diego in September 1542—leading Cabrillo and his men to it made the first European settlers to set foot in what would become California.

Of course, by this time, vast communities of indigenous people were already living in what would later be called the golden state.

In the early 1600s, Mexican explorers followed news of the coveted land, but official settlement did not occur until much later, in 1769. Brittanica records that at this point the first Presidio – a military post – was established there, which served as a settlement of its own until it became a pueblo in the 1830s.

Although San Diego was incorporated when California joined the United States in 1850, a bankruptcy resulted in the city losing its charter just two years later, according to the San Diego City Clerk’s Office. The city operated under a board of trustees and remained so until 1889, when a new charter was adopted.

san francisco

Founded in 1776 as a Spanish mission and presidium, the eventual home of the Golden Gate Bridge was originally discovered by European explorers seven years earlier, HISTORY explains.

In the early 1800s, HISTORY reports that the San Francisco de Asis Mission was “the center of spiritual and material life” for over 1,000 local people.

Mexico gained control of the territory in 1821, although the US acquired San Francisco territory in 1848 under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The busy area continued to grow and become a hub for the entire state and was finally incorporated in April 1850 during the famous Gold Rush.

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Sacramento

While California’s fourth and current capital was colonized by Mexico in 1839 under the name Nueva Helvetia, or “New Switzerland,” the valley was discovered by settlers earlier, Brittanica explains. A Spanish explorer and writer named Pedro Fages had previously named the valley’s river after the Christian Holy Sacraments.

The discovery of gold in the area led to massive population growth over the next 10 years and helped the town gain city rights in 1849. As the City of Sacramento reports, Sacramento is “the oldest incorporated city in California.”

Interesting tidbit: According to the city of Benicia, the gold rush is said to have started after gold in the Sacramento area was discussed at a tavern in Benicia.

Eventually, the California legislature moved to Sacramento in 1854, and the city was elected the permanent state capital in 1879.

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