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California's first State Legislature - in old San Jose, was known as the "Legislature of a Thousand Drinks." Senator Thomas Jefferson Green of the Sacramento District ws accredited with this bon mot. At the end of every session he encouraged fellow lawmakers, "Let's have a drink! Let's have a thousand drinks!"

Booze flowed freely, and saloons lucky enough to be in the vicinity of the State Building fared very well indeed. Some say the lack of sophisticated night-life in San Jose encouraged lawmakers to resort to saloons. Others maintain it was the muddy conditions of the streets (San Jose had 36 inches of rain in 1849) which depressed the spirits of the lawmakers, and encouraged them to find solace in alcohol. It has been suggested that alcohol was consumed in large quantity because the water was no good.

The mud, and a lucrative offer from M.G. Vallejo, enticed the Legislature to vacate San Jose for drier digs. In 1854, the "Legislature on wheels," as it was known, rolled into Sacramento to stay.

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