Two Offices To Serve You
900 First Street, Benicia, CA 94510 707-745-6000

2581 Springs Road, Vallejo, CA 94591 707-647-4300

webmaster@solanopacific.com

History abounds in Benicia unlike any other city or town in California. Conceived in 1846, founded in 1847, and settled in 1848, Benicia has the unique distinction of being the first American city founded in the Golden State by Anglo-Americans, as compared to earlier Spanish settlements and missions, forts or trading centers which later developed into California cities. However, the name Benicia, was bestowed by General Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, a Spanish land grant owner, after his wife, Dona Francisca Benicia.

About an hour from San Francisco about 28,000 residents. Benicia has natural beauty, wonderful shopping, thriving marina, fine dining, award winning schools, art and culture await you in our historic city that has been dubbed the “jewel” of the Bay Area Being a waterfront community adds to the unique charm of this community.

The Benicia Marina offers public docking facilities for boaters who can easily make one day trips from any of the Bay Area ports. It also offers access to the Sacramento Delta and its many miles of inland waterways.

In the world of commerce, one of the earliest companies in California was the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, a transportation company that literally moved the lion’s share of the great migration of people and material from the eastern United States to the far west outposts by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Pacific Mail selected Benicia as the site of its northern repair, refueling and cleaning facility.

ferried trains across to the opposite shore for the final journey to San Francisco. This operation lasted from 1879 to 1930, a fifty year episode when Benicia was one of the windows of the world

Education has also been an integral part of Benicia’s early development. The Young Ladies Seminary opened in 1852 and played an extensive role in the development of Mills College in Oakland. This was the first College for women west of the Rockies.

Two years later, St. Catherine’s Academy, a Catholic school, was opened and was joined by Blake’s Collegiate Institute. This school later was the genesis of St. Augustine’s Military School (St. Mary’s of the Pacific, and the Episcopalian School for Girls later opened their doors). With the record of accomplishment these schools represented, Benicia can claim a unique place in modern day California education. There is something for everyone to discover and enjoy in this charming city. As you look through this relocation guide, you can read more thoroughly about the various attributes Benicia has to offer and you too can see why Benicia is definitely the “jewel” of the Bay Area!