Petaluma was branded The World’s Egg Basket during the first half of the 20th century when it was arguably the center of California’s poultry industry.
Peaking in the mid 1940s, the region’s poultry ranches produced over 600 million eggs annually. The industry developed here in part due to climate and proximity to river and rail links, but the main catalyst was the development and commercial production in the city of a reliable temperature-stable incubator for chicken eggs in 1879.
