A snapshot history of Petaluma’s first park
Penry Park was established as Main Street Plaza in January 1852, when Petaluma’s founder George H. Keller first laid out the town.
Early settlers weren’t pleased however with leaving a fallow piece of land at the heart of town, deriding it as “a waste and a nuisance.” Elected officials left the park barren for decades, with no paths, benches, trees, or water. Overrun by wild chickens, it was sarcastically called “Chicken Hill.”
The city made numerous attempts to convert it into something “useful,” including homes, businesses, a city hall, a courthouse, a high school, and a jail. In 1886, they constructed a stone wall along its eastern edge to end complaints of winter mudslides clogging up Main Street (Petaluma Boulevard North).
In 1896, the Ladies Improvement Club took it upon themselves to landscape the park with trees and paths, renaming it Hill Plaza. They maintained the park until 1911, when the city created a parks commission.
In 1929, a memorial with a cannon was erected in tribute to Petalumans lost in WWI, leading to the nickname “Cannonball Park.” The cannon was melted down for metal during WWII, and replaced by two anti-aircraft guns.
The city council persisted in their efforts to convert the park into something useful, mounting unsuccessful efforts in 1948 and 1960 to turn it into a parking lot.
In 2001, Hill Plaza Park was renamed Penry Park in honor of hometown Medal of Honor winner Richard Penry.
