Author Archives: nancyleek

Sorry I dropped the ball here at the Bidwell blog. I’m ready to get back to blogging, although I’m not making any big promises. But I should be showing up occasionally with some tidbits about John Bidwell and his world. … Continue reading →

After his experience at the disastrous 1860 Democratic National Convention—the one that split the party in two—John Bidwell came home to California and attended the state convention that would nominate a candidate for governor. He wanted the job. In 1867, … Continue reading →

In 1891, John Bidwell dictated a memoir in which, among many other things, he recalled his career in politics. Here is what he had to say about his role at the 1860 National Democratic Convention: When I was sent as … Continue reading →

John Bidwell would have told anyone who asked him that all he ever wanted to be was a farmer, and a farmer he was, albeit on a grand scale. But he had political ambitions too. Not like William C. Gwin, … Continue reading →

Yesterday Jim and I visited Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento, another one of the state parks that was slated for closure last year.  Thankfully, that unfortunate chapter in state parks history is behind us, for the time being … Continue reading →

“The days of old, the days of gold, the days of ’49” live on in California. There’s a reason it is called the Golden State, and the San Francisco football team is called the Forty-Niners. Those Gold Rush years left … Continue reading →

The Great Seal of California depicts Minerva, goddess of wisdom, seated, with a grizzly bear by her side.  Why Minerva?  Because Minerva (or Athena) sprung fully formed from the forehead of her father Jupiter (or Zeus). As explained by Caleb … Continue reading →

I haven’t been posting much lately; instead I’ve been trying to get a handle on California politics in the 1850’s. I realized, after I started writing about Bidwell in politics, that I didn’t really know much about politics and government … Continue reading →

Somewhere in his writings, and I can’t find the reference, Bidwell says in his early career in California he was an “incorrigible Democrat.” When he left Missouri and came into California in 1841, a young man of 22, he naturally … Continue reading →

Here’s an interesting question: What political party did John Bidwell belong to? The first answer that probably comes to mind is the Prohibition Party. Most people in Chico know that John Bidwell was the Prohibitionist candidate for U.S. president in … Continue reading →