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Petaluma is one of California's oldest cities with one
of the best-preserved Historic Downtown areas on the
National Register of Historic Places. The Petaluma River
has seen a succession of populations, beginning with
the Petaluma Native Americans, Spanish explorers, and
Mexican vaqueros and was once the third most commercially
trafficked waterway in California. Chartered in 1858,
the town's exciting past can be seen as a microcosm
of the history of California as a whole.
Petaluma
Facts & Firsts
Petaluma
Past in a Nutshell
Historic
Downtown
Petaluma
Historical Resources
PETALUMA FACTS & FIRSTS
| Population: 56,727 |
Rain Season: November - March |
| Year Chartered: 1858 |
Area Code: 707 |
| Square Miles: 13.378 |
Media Age: 37 years |
| Elevation: 12-400 feet |
Growth Rate: 1% |
| Precipitation: 24 inches annually |
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Climate: Spring to late Fall, warm days are
65 to 85 degrees, with cool evenings from ocean breezes.
Summers are dry. Winter days are pleasant with chilly
evenings. Rainy season is broken by sparkling clear,
sunny days. December through February, high temperatures
range from low 50s to 65.
Petaluma's Name: The origin of Petaluma's name
is a Coastal Miwok phrase for "valley of the little
hills."
Petaluma is a town of many recently bestowed monikers:
Travel & Leisure Magazine named Petaluma
one of the "Nation's Top Ten Getaways Near A Major
City", and Latitude 38, the boater's bible, titled
Petaluma one of the "Bay Area's Top Ten Leisure Boating
Destinations". Sunset magazine named Petaluma "the perfect small town," in 2008. County Living magazine featured the annual Butter and Egg Day and Spring Antique Fair in its pages, calling the April weekend a must for visitors to the area. Petaluma was labeled "Best Home Town
in California" by www.epodunk.com, and Festivals.com christened Petaluma's Butter & Egg Day celebration "The Best
Festival in the World."
Due to the city's commitment
to its urban forest and city parks, Petaluma also proudly
claims the designation of "Tree City U.S.A." Petaluma's
140 restaurants support the name of "Restaurant Capital."
Fun Facts and Firsts Petaluma was the first
U. S. city to be able to protect its individuality through
a residential growth management plan (the right was
won from the Federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals),
and its "Americana" visual appeal has drawn filmmakers
since the earliest days of Hollywood. The first movie
filmed in Petaluma was in 1911.
Petaluma had the world's first and only chicken pharmacy.
Petaluman, Lyman C. Byce is credited with invention
of the first practical chicken incubator in 1879.
First
Hotel 1851
City Park 1852
Stage line from Petaluma to Sonoma 1854
Newspaper and brewery 1855
Gas Lamps 1863
Electricity 1893
Fred Wiseman made the first airmail flight, from Petaluma
to Santa Rosa in 1911
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