More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #468 of 847 in California. What drives it
Most of Cotati was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Cotati post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1963.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cotati’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cotati is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #468 of 847 in California. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cotati’s overall grade.
Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cotati’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (31% of California towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1963.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Cotati’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Coast Miwok civilization thrived in the Cotati area since at least 2000 BC, with principal villages built near major streams. Documented villages in the area included Lumen-takala (northeast of present-day Cotati), Payinecha (west of present-day Cotati), and Kotati.
In 1827, an Irishman named John Thomas Reed ventured into Miwok territory and built a cabin near Crane Creek. After the natives burned it, he retreated south to Mill Valley.
Passages that mention Cotati, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 189Read the page →
Read the text
Vallejo township is tlie plain between Sonoma mountain and Petaluma creek. San Pablo bay and an east and west line dividing the tract from Santa Rosa township. In the upper part of Vallejo township, in the center of the Cotati Rancho is Penn Grove. This is also a station on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad and the shipping point of a considerable poultry district. In the lower or southeastern part of the township is Donohue, on the creek about eight miles from Petaluma and was formerly the bay terminus of the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad. Another landing on the creek, a short
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time1911 · page 432Read the page →
Read the text
tinning his investigation, he traveled over the Bay counties in an endeavor to find suitable land upon which to raise poultry. It was at this point that his eye fell upon an advertisement wherein he noted that ten thousand acres had recently been subdivided at Cotati, and with the hope of finding suitable land in this vicinity he came to inspect the land the following morning. Finding conditions as represented, he selected a twenty-acre lot and made the first deposit on it. Settlers at that time were few. and Cotati and Penn Grove could boast of little more than their names. This condition, however, did not dismay Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Cotati, 1894 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Cotati post office opened in 1894, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1963.
How does Cotati rank for history?
Cotati is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #468 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Cotati?
3% of Cotati’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1984.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2012
2012
2007