Sonoma County
Location and general
This town, situated on the U.S. 101 about 37mi/60km north of San Francisco, was founded in 1852, and even before that it was already providing the rapidly growing metropolis with agricultural products. To an immigrant Canadian, Petaluma - the Miwok Indian word for "flat
back" - appeared to be an ideal place for chicken farming; he imported white Leghorn chickens, and in 1878 invented the incubator. Chicken farming reached its peak in 1920 when Petaluma, often called the egg-capital of the world, dispatched 22 million eggs.
Today there is nothing left of the chicken farms, even though the buildings of historic Petaluma have been amazingly well preserved, and its earlier importance as a river port for trade with San Francisco is still clear to see.
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