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Petaluma Cooperative Creamery records, 1914-1974
(bulk, 1928-1974)
SPC.00026
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Table of contents
Title: Petaluma Cooperative Creamery records
Date (inclusive): 1914-1974
Date (bulk): (bulk, 1928-1974)
Identification: SPC.00026
Physical Description:
1.08 linear foot
1 record storage box
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Repository:
Petaluma History Room, Petaluma Regional Library
Abstract: Official records of the Petaluma Cooperative Creamery from 1914 through 1974.
Biography/Organization History
The Petaluma Cooperative Creamery was founded by 33 Petaluma area dairy farmers led by Silvio Gambinoni in 1913 to serve a
booming San Francisco butter market. Meanwhile, Sonoma County dairy farmers needed a steady market for the milk and cream
they produced. The new co-op built a plant at 619 Western Avenue, in Petaluma. In 1916, the Petaluma Cooperative Creamery
began distributing Clover-brand dairy products in the Petaluma area. Soon, Clover products began showing up all over the North
Bay. In 1929, the Creamery began bottling milk under the Clover brand, later adding cottage cheese to the brand line and in
1969, adopting Clo the Cow as the Clover mascot. In 1974, the Creamery changed its name to California Cooperative Creamery.
A year later, a massive fire destroyed the milk processing and bottling operations, and the cooler; the co-op decided not
to immediately rebuild the facility and Gene Benedetti, along with a group of employees, purchased the wholesale operation
business from Cal Co-op and Stornetta's Dairy in Sonoma in August of 1977, forming Clover Stornetta Farms, Inc. The Creamery
continued operations as California Gold, producing cheese and butter and processing milk. The plant was closed again in 2004
after being absorbed by Dairy Farmers of America, but Larry Peters, owner of Spring Hill Dairy, purchased the creamery, renamed
it the Petaluma Creamery, and added new product lines and a retail operation. (Sources: Tesconi, Tim. Petaluma Creamery turns
100 and still keeps churning, Sonoma County Farm Bureau News, Sept. 1, 2013; Espinosa, Dyan. Still churning after all these
years, Argus-Courier, Sept. 18, 2013; Clover Heritage, Clover website, retrieved July 10, 2019,
https://cloversonoma.com/our-promise/heritage)
Business records.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.
Petaluma Cooperative Creamery
Stornetta Dairies
Clover Stornetta Inc.
Creameries--California--Petaluma
Business enterprises--California--Petaluma
Cream industry--California--Petaluma
Dairy products--California--Petaluma--Cooperative marketing
Cooperative societies--California--Petaluma
Dairying--California
Business records
Ledgers (account books)
Archival materials
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Access Information
This collection is unprocessed. Please contact the Petaluma History Room for access; for contact info and current hours, see
https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/petaluma-history-room
Conditions of Use
Collection does not circulate and may be photocopied or photographed by arrangement only.
The Sonoma County Library makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized work and can claim only
physical ownership of the work (s) described in these records. However, these materials are intended for Personal or Research
use only. Any other kind of use, including, but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format,
public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to
the copyrights held by parties other than the Library. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such
rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use. Preferred credit line
is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and reuse information at
https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library/order-photo
[Identification of item], Petaluma Cooperative Creamery records, 1914-1974 (bulk, 1928-1974). SPC.00026, Petaluma History
Room, Sonoma County Library, Petaluma, CA.
Gift: donor and date of donation unknown