Author Archives: nancyleek

Here’s a puzzle for you. Is this an early sketch of Sutter’s Fort? It looks kind of like Sutter’s Fort, but not big enough. It’s captioned “View of Fort Sutter.” But is that really what it is? I had never … Continue reading →

I am just back from a trip to Chicago and Wisconsin to visit with some of my family. Here’s a picture of my two college girls on an architectural boat tour of Chicago. Nothing beats spending time with grandkids. On … Continue reading →

John Bidwell loved casaba melons and always noted in his diary when the first one was ready, usually in mid-August. Mon. Aug. 25 [1884] First good Casaba this morning. I grow them too and have harvested a couple of them … Continue reading →

John Bidwell wanted Rancho Chico to be more than a wheat and cattle ranch. He foresaw that California could be “one grand fruit orchard”, and he would start on his ranch. This newspaper report from 1855, only six years after … Continue reading →

Happy Birthday to California pioneer and Chico founder John Bidwell! John Bidwell was born on August 5, 1819 in Chautauqua County, New York, near the shores of Lake Erie, 204 years ago. Bidwell rarely noted his birthday in his daily … Continue reading →

On August 1st, 1856, The Marysville Daily Herald published their thanks for the gift of a 30-pound watermelon, sent by Thomas Bidwell, younger brother of Major John Bidwell. Why were they honored with such a hefty and delicious gift? It … Continue reading →

What is a man who has just married a temperance wife to do with five hundred gallons of “superior wine”? That was John Bidwell’s dilemma and here is his solution. Bidwell had never been a drinking man, and once he … Continue reading →

Writing about Bidwell’s old adobe house a few months ago, I posted this picture of Bidwell Mansion, which shows the adobe on the left-hand side and Bidwell Mansion in the center. At the time I said it was an “undated … Continue reading →