Two projects -- one in 2020 and a second in 2022 -- aimed to record stories of Rohnert Park's development from its beginnings through the present day through the eyes of long-time residents, business people, developers and political figures.

 

Cindy Bagley, Director of Community Services for Rohnert Park, directed the 2020 interviews project. They were  were conducted by Press Democrat reporter Jeremy Hays, under the direction of Andi Reese Brady, Personal History Productions, LLC. While these interviews were captured on video by videographer Alan Fitch, the collection currently includes only the audio recordings.

 

The 2022 interviews -- celebrating the city's 60th anniversary -- were initiated by Barbara Mackenzie, Jake Mackenzie and Pam Novelly. Teams of Sonoma State University students conducted these interviews under the direction of Steve Estes, Professor of History. They are a mix of video and audio recordings, each guided by a set of 22 questions developed by Professor Estes. The interviewees for this project includes a few figures featured in the 2020 interviews.

 

Complementing these interviews are other initiatives launched by Barbara Mackenzie, including a Friends of the Rohnert Park-Cotati Library oral history project and work with archived Rohnert Park historical materials.

 

The Rohnert Park Oral History Interviews

Rohnert Park 2020 Oral History Interviews

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Rohnert Park 60th Anniversary Interviews

Download the 22-question interview template

Rohnert Park -- now Sonoma County's third largest city -- is also one of the County's youngest. In 1956, only four people were living in the the City's current boundaries and nearly all of it consisted of the Rohnert Seed Farm, which at the time, was a major horticultural business. That changed rapidly after developers Pete Golis and Maurice Fredericks purchased the seed farm and began building a new planned city. When residents of the 1,325-acre community voted to incorporate in the summer of 1962, 2,775 people were living in the new city. By 2020, the population had grown by over 1500% to 44,390 residents and the City now covers 7 square miles of land.