The hall was built by and named after Reverend Walter Colton who was to become the first Alcalde in the American period. The large hall was made out of white stone that was quarried nearby. Over the years it as been used as a public school, been the city’s hall, a county court house, a sheriffs office and the local city police HQ. Not long after the hall opened in 1849 it was the place used by 48 delegates of California’s Constitutional Convention to hold their meeting. It is now a museum.

After 1850 the back balcony made a scaffold were the condemned would be hanged from rope off it, some of these now roam as spirits and tour guides have reported the feeling of being watched, cold spots and the feeling of unease.