HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALIFORNIA
On Sept. 9, 1850, California was admitted as the 31st state in the union. Here are a few things to celebrate about our 175-year-old home.
State flag history
On June 14, 1846, rebellious settlers marched on the Mexican garrison at Sonoma. They declared California to be a republic independent of Mexico. This became known as the Bear Flag Revolt, named for the hastily designed flag depicting a grizzly and a five-point star over a red bar and the words “California Republic.” The flag only flew until July 9, 1846, when it was learned that Mexico and the United States were already at war. It was adopted as the state flag in 1911.
Settling on SacramentoCalifornia’s first capital was San Jose, which was deemed inadequate due to lack of facilities for a proper capital, and a wet winter in 1850-1851 turned dirt roads into muddy streams. This map shows where the capital was before Sacramento was chosen.
Blue and gold became the official colors of the state in 1951.
California has 28 National Park Service sites that get an estimated 40 million visitors each year.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation manages 280 parks.
California has the tallest trees (coast redwoods), the biggest trees (giant sequoias) and the oldest trees (bristlecone pines) in the world. If you think 175 years is a long time, some bristlecone pines are thought to be almost 5,000 years old.
Wise choices: We have a Roman goddess on our state seal, Minerva, who symbolized wisdom and war. When the state seal was created in 1950, the designers noted that just as myth tells us Minerva sprang full-grown from the head of Jupiter, California became a state without having to go through a territorial stage.
In 1849, leaders from around the future state met in Monterey to draft the first constitution. The wording was approved Nov. 13 by a vote of 12,064 to 811. Peter Burnett was elected governor, and in January 1850, the state Legislature began its first two-year session. The state constitution had the following preamble: “We, the people of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, do establish this Constitution.” It has 12 articles and can be read on the California secretary of state’s website, sos.ca.gov.
You can find a list for all the state symbols at the State Library’s site here.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, California Parks and Recreation, California State Library, California Secretary of State’s Office, California Department of Finance, California State Association of Counties