Benicia is a waterside city in Solano County, California, United States. It was the first city in California to be founded by Anglo-Americans, and briefly served as the state capital for nearly thirteen months. The population was 26,865 at the 2000 census. The city lies in the San Francisco Bay Area near San Francisco and Vallejo. Benicia is located on the north side of the Carquinez Strait, directly facing the city of Martinez.
The town can be divided into three areas: Southampton (north of Military), East Benicia (east of First Street), and West Benicia (west of First Street). Most of the town's older homes are on the east and west sides. The far east side has an industrial park, where the town's many local artists have rented out studio space. Also in or near the industrial park are the Valero oil refinery, the 1859 Clock Tower and the 1850s Camel Barns. The Benicia State Recreation Area is on the far west edge of the city. Southampton contains primarily stucco family homes, most of which were built between 1970 and 2000.
The main retail area in Benicia is First Street, which attracts out-of-town antique and boutique shoppers and those seeking small-town charm.


Benicia was founded on May 19, 1847 by Robert Semple, Thomas O. Larkin, and Comandante General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, on land sold to them by General Vallejo, and named for the General's wife, Francisca Benicia Carillo de Vallejo. The first intended name "Francisca" was dropped due to then, Yerba Buena changing its name to "San Francisco", so Mrs. Vallejo's second given name was used instead. Benicia was sixth site selected as the California state capital from February 11, 1853 to February 25, 1854, but the capital was then moved to Sacramento. The restored capital building is part of the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. Benicia was also the county seat of Solano County until 1858 when that was moved to Fairfield.
From 1860-1861, Benicia was indirectly involved in the Pony Express. When riders missed their connection with a steamer in Sacramento, they would continue on to Benicia and cross over to Martinez via the ferry. [1] One of the earliest companies in California, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, established a major shipyard in Benicia in the 19th century. Benicia became an important wheat storage and shipping site. It was also the site of the United States Army's Benicia Arsenal. In 1879, the Central Pacific Railroad re-routed the Sacramento-Oakland portion of its transcontinental line, establishing a major railroad ferry across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia to Port Costa. The world's largest ferry, the Solano, later joined by the even larger Contra Costa, carried entire trains across the Carquinez Strait from Benicia to Port Costa, from whence they continued on to the Oakland Pier. After California's wheat output dropped in the early 20th Century and especially after the Southern Pacific (which took over the operations of the Central Pacific) constructed a railroad bridge at Martinez in 1930 to replace the ferry crossing, Benicia declined until the economic boom of World War II, which doubled the population to about 7,000 residents.
Two developments in the early 1960s would completely change Benicia: The closing of the Benicia Arsenal in 1960–64, and the completion of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge in 1962. The closing of the Arsenal removed Benicia's traditional economic base, but allowed city leaders to create an industrial park on Arsenal land which eventually provided more revenue for the city than the Army had. The completion of the Benicia-Martinez Bridge made it possible for the city to become a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland, and suburban development in the Benicia hills began in the late 1960s.
Between 1970 and 1995, the population of Benicia grew steadily at a rate of about 1,000 people per year, and the city changed from a poor, blue-collar town of 7,000 to a white-collar bedroom suburb of 28,000.
The town is also the location of the Valero Refinery. The refinery was completed in 1969 by Exxon Corporation, and bought by Valero Refining, a San Antonio based oil company subsidiary in 2000. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency listed the Exxon refinery in Benicia among the top five facilities for toxic chemical releases to the environment in California in 1997. Flaring, most commonly associated with vapor plumes coming from tall stacks at the refineries – and the constantly-burning pilot lights visible at night – is the process used to burn off gases during "upsets," when something goes wrong and equipment must be shut down rapidly to avert an explosion or fire. Those emergencies can produce thick black clouds of unburned hydrocarbons, which in turn produce six-figure fines from the air district and local governments. Refineries face possible fines if they flare for more than three minutes. Many Benicians will say they have seen these flares for long periods of time.