A Snapshot in Time

From riverfront shipping depot to poultry powerhouse, here’s a brief look at Petaluma’s history.

1914

1879

Local residents Lyman Byce and Isaac Dias invent the first practical egg incubator. Look out Petaluma, an egg-onomic boom is coming!

1918

The city is declared “The World’s Egg Basket,” and the first Egg Day Parade celebrates this egg-cellent news.

1995

1852

Petaluma is founded on the former site of a Coast Miwok village and shipping depot along what is now known as the Petaluma River. The city’s riverfront location makes it a bustling destination during the mid19th century Gold Rush, as the river carried products from this fertile valley to the rapidly growing areas of San Francisco and Oakland.

1864

Grain merchant and entrepreneur John A. McNear builds a warehouse on the future site of the Golden Eagle Milling Company. (McNear ends up launching a family dynasty, which leads economic, entrepreneurial, and civic development in Petaluma for nearly a century.)

1885

1871

The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad line starts service from bayside Marin to Santa Rosa, with stops in Petaluma, solidifying P-town as the commercial hub for Sonoma County.

Thanks to its riverfront location and fertile valley, Petaluma’s prosperity continues to grow. Some of the city’s ornate buildings, showcasing cast-iron facades and Italianstyle architectural details, are built. Spot these beauties throughout downtown and on Western Avenue (between Petaluma Boulevard and Kentucky Street).

1886

John McNear constructs what is now known as McNear’s Saloon & Dining House. (Belly up to the bar for a local brew and burger today.) In 1911, he opens the silent film and vaudeville venue Mystic Theatre located next door to the saloon. Collectively, the saloon and theater are known as the McNear Building (for more on Mystic Theatre, turn to page 71).

1940

P-town lives up to its poultry powerhouse reputation: Petaluma’s chicken industry supplies 32% of California’s eggs. That’s a lot of eggs!

1975

The Great Petaluma Mill, a collection of buildings that was once used as a meat warehouse in the 19th century, undergoes a major rehabilitation. Today the complex is home to shops, eateries, and businesses.

Downtown Petaluma is officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Head to VisitPetaluma.com/ history for a map of downtown’s historic buildings.

AAfter Lyman Byce and Isaac Dias perfected the chicken incubator in 1879, commercial egg production exploded, transforming the poultry trade into a modern industry. Fast forward to the early 20th century, when Petaluma was hailed “The World’s Egg Basket,” millions of fresh Petaluma eggs each year graced breakfast plates across the country. With production focused on the Single Comb White Leghorn, a prolific breed capable of laying an average of 200 eggs annually, deposits swelled at local banks, making Petaluma one of America’s richest towns.

The town honored its feathered benefactors, naming a park and a baseball team for the breed, as well as erecting a statue of a broody hen nicknamed Betty. All of this paved the way to the Egg Day Parade, which often featured a chicken rodeo, an egg-laying contest, an Egg Queen Ball, a parade with poultry-themed floats and costumes, and the Egg Queen

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