Today, agribusiness is still important to the quality of life and commerce in Petaluma. Dairy ranches have replaced chicken farms in importance, with large operations like Clover Stornetta creating quality milk products for today's market. The Petaluma Cooperative Creamery, established in 1913, is now part of a national conglomerate of milk producers, and cheeses, including goat cheese, is still manufactured in the area. Specialty crops and Sonoma County wines have earned Petaluma the reputation of a gourmet's paradise. Hundreds of small chicken ranches were established in the Petaluma valley from the late 1800s through the 1940s, creating the largest center for poultry in the country. Proclaimed the "World's Egg Basket," Petaluma's egg production reached a volume of over 50 million dozen eggs annually, most of which were shipped all over the world via the Petaluma Creek. To celebrate National Egg Day, a parade and other celebrations were held from 1918 to 1926 that drew national attention. Petaluma even supported the world's only chicken pharmacy. A sea captain, John McNear, recognized the prime location of Petaluma for commerce on the navigable creek, and erected the first cement warehouse and began a small grain empire, which was expanded by his son, George. The McNear family became one of the richest and most influential in the town's history. After brief explorations by Spaniards from 1776 to 1823, Vallejo was granted the Petaluma Rancho in 1834, and established the first European settlement in the Petaluma Valley By 1850, farmers, hunters, and trappers had discovered the fertile Petaluma creek environs. John Lockwood was one of the first who made a camp on the banks of the creek just above today's Washington Street bridge, called Cedar Grove. Mr. Baylis erected a warehouse to store the goods he and his partners traded, via the creek, with merchants and distributors in San Francisco. By 1857, the population was 1,338; the next year the town was incorporated. Petaluma's Lyman Byce, a Canadian who had relocated here, invented the first practical chicken incubator in 1879, opening the way for Petaluma's lucrative poultry industry. The local indigenous tribes inhabited the Petaluma valley alone until the late 1700s. The name Petaluma may have originated from their language, meaning "flat, back," describing the several small hills located throughout the valley. Later translations have stated the meaning as "a valley with little hills." Indications are that one settlement may have been located on the east side of the creek on a low hill in the vicinity of Vallejo's adobe rancho. The third rail line built in California was called the Petaluma and Haystack Railroad, with its depot located downtown near the river. The explosion of its only locomotive at the intersection of Second and B Streets in 1866 was a famous local tragedy. The incident led to the conversion of the enterprise from steam to mule power. The Petaluma Creek was upgraded to River by Act of Congress and signed by President Eisenhower on June 16, 1959. Commercial traffic has been joined today by recreational use, but river tonnage is still vital to the economic health of the city. Oil products, oyster shell, grain and concrete manufacturing keep the river busy today. Many craft plied the creek's waters, made tricky by the turns and twists of its course and the ebb and flow of the tides in what is actually a tidal slough or estuary of San Pablo Bay. Scow schooners, sloops, paddleboats and other steamers were making Petaluma the third busiest inland port in the state. Three steamboats were christened "Petaluma" that sunk, exploded or burned. Remnants of one is still visible along the river, as well as the first sternwheeler "Gold," which burned in 1920.
Wiseman Flight
The first air mail flight originated in Petaluma, with a destination of Santa Rosa. Wiseman ran into engine trouble, and was delayed for repairs, making the flight in two days, on February 17-18, 1911. The airplane is now at the Smithsonian Museum.
Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc |
