COTATI

Settled: 1828, incorporated July 8, 1963

Size: 1.8 square miles

City Hall: 201 West Sierra Ave., 792-4600

Population: 6,502, Jan. 1, 1994, state estimate. 1990 Census: 5,714; 48.5%

male, 51.5% female; median age: 30.8.

Cotati calls itself the Hub of Sonoma County because of the unusual shape

of its town square -- a hexagon.

New Englander Thomas Page bought the 17,000 acres that would become Cotati

during the 1849 Gold Rush and moved there to raise sheep and cattle in the

early 1860s.

After his death, the ranch was divided into smaller farms, and his son

Wilfred designed the hexagon-shaped central plaza. Each of the six streets

around the hub is named for Page's other six sons -Olaf, William, George,

Charles, Henry and Arthur.

The town was first known as Page's Station, later changed to Cotati in

honor of Chief Cotate, leader of the Coastal Miwoks who lived there in the

early 1800s. His statue, newly refurbished by American Indian artisans, stands

in La Plaza Park surrounded by the streets named for Page's sons.

The town offers an eclectic mix of events throughout the year, including

its Indian Summer Festival, Jazz Festival and Accordion Festival (Use an

Accordion, Go to Cotati, It's the Law.)