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History · Petaluma Center

11% of Petaluma Center’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1947 on.

0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Petaluma Center’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Petaluma Center are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Petaluma Center’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Petaluma Center’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Petaluma Center, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Petaluma Center yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Petaluma Center is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. It covers the residential population of the Coast Guard facility Training Center Petaluma. Per the 2020 census, the population was 709.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Petaluma Center on the map, 1947 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Petaluma Center. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Petaluma Center on the 1947 USGS mapPetaluma Center on the 1958 USGS mapPetaluma Center on the 1962 USGS mapPetaluma Center on the 1983 USGS map1947Santa Rosa sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Petaluma Center.

Famous people

Famous people close to Petaluma Center

Nobody well known was born in Petaluma Center itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Rebecca De MornayAmerican actress · b. 1959
Julie LondonAmerican actress and singer · b. 1926
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic · b. 1919
Jussie SmollettAmerican actor · b. 1982
Nicole MannAmerican astronaut of Estonian origin · b. 1977
Chad ChanningAmerican musician · b. 1967

Questions about Petaluma Center’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.