Clara McNear and her husband John arrived in Petaluma November, 1856, in response to a  letter from her father urging the young couple  to come. Clara’s father, George Bailey Williams, arrived in Petaluma in 1851 and [...]

Edward Spaulding Lippett and his wife Sarah left Connecticut and came to Petaluma in 1863. He became Petaluma's first Superintendent of Schools.  In 1867 he built a private academy at 625 D Street.  That enterprise failed and he [...]

Ada (Addie) Daley Atwater was born on October 16, 1836 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, of a well-to- do family. Her grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War as a bodyguard to General  Washington. As a young girl, [...]

Isaac Wickersham, one of Petaluma’s leading citizens and bankers was born in York County, Pennsylvania in 1820. In 1853, he arrived in Petaluma; a "frail and nervous young man" of 33 years of age; [...]

Lyman Byce developed the incubator into a huge commercial success, forever changing the poultry business and helping to make it Petaluma’s claim to fame. A tireless self promoter, he traveled the world selling his ideas. [...]

Thomas Fulsher Baylis was one of the de facto founders of Petaluma. In the first two decades of its existence he became a prominent businessman and civic leader. His success was especially admirable given his [...]

Ida Belle Mc Near was married to George P. McNear, the son of John Augustus Mc Near. John owned the graineries, the hotels, the banks, and the railroads in Petaluma in the 1850 ‘s. Because of their [...]

Although Mr. William Pepper came to California in 1850  in search of gold, along with thousands of others 49ers; he did not arrive in Petaluma until 1858, the year  that the rapidly growing river town officially became a [...]