About CHS

Our History

Cotati has been a community for over 120 years, and a city for more than 50. It has had an interesting and varied history, but it wasn't until 2007 that it had a museum.

Lloyd and Prue Draper, who owned The Cotatian weekly newspaper from 1951 to 1965, had collected Cotati historic documents, artifacts, and memorabilia for over 50 years, hoping that some day the city would have an appropriate place to store and display them and make them available to the public. As various organizations in town disbanded, they entrusted their records and artifacts to the Drapers with the understanding that they would be appropriately preserved.

The Drapers, assisted by attorney Maurice Fredericks, established the Cotati Historical Society in 2007 as a California non-profit corporation. They appointed a Board of Directors and petitioned the City of Cotati to lease an unused room at City Hall for a historic museum and archive. Robert Leys, Cotati architect, produced the plan for converting the room from a much-partitioned police department into a museum.

Our Mission

Our mission is to preserve Cotati history through the acquisition and preservation of artifacts, photos, archives, and other historical materials. We provide a resource for visitors and researchers interested in Cotati’s unique past. Our community outreach program enables us to support Cotati-related cultural activities and events and to maintain reciprocal relations with other historical entities.

Meetings

Cotati Historical Society Board of Directors meet on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:45pm (subject to change) in the Museum. Members of the public are welcome to attend. To inquire about meeting location and how to attend, please contact us at 707-794-0305 or cotatimuseum@gmail.com

The next Board meeting is on Wednesday, January 15th at 5:45 PM. See you in the New Year!