Benicia, California

Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the San Francisco Bay Area along the north bank of the Carquinez Strait. Benicia is just east of Vallejo and across the strait from Martinez. Elizabeth Patterson has served as Mayor of Benicia since 2007.

The town can be divided into four areas: the East Side (east of First Street), the West Side (west of First Street), Southampton (the newer suburban neighborhoods north of Interstate 780), and the industrial park. Most of the town's older homes are on the east and west sides. Southampton contains primarily single-family housing developments and condominiums, most of which were built between 1970 and 2000. The East Side includes the Benicia Arsenal, a former United States Army armory, which was bought by the city and is now used for a variety of purposes, most notably as live-work spaces for artists. The Arsenal is home to several historic (ca. 1860) landmark buildings such as The Clock Tower, the Camel Barn, and the Jefferson Street Mansion. The industrial park lies to the northeast of the residential areas of the city, and includes the Valero oil refinery. The Benicia State Recreation Area is on the far west edge of the city.

Benicia (barquentine)

Benicia was a barquentine built by Matthew Turner in Benicia, California in 1899. She was known for a fast passage from Newcastle, New South Wales to Kehei, Hawaii, of 35 days. Barkentine Benicia was wrecked in Haiti in 1920.

Turner's influence on schooner Benicia

At least two other sailing vessels also carried the name Benicia. Gibbs reports that Turner's influence on the South Seas schooner was still evident as late as 1941, when a two-masted schooner, Benicia, built in Tahiti by a shipwright who had worked in Turner's yard, arrived in San Francisco under the French flag.

1883 iron ship Benicia

An 899-ton iron ship named Benicia was launched in Oct. 1883, for Liverpool owners, by Whitehaven Iron Shipbuilding Co.

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