Author Archives: nancyleek

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About nancyleek

Nancy is a retired librarian who lives in Chico, California. She is the author of John Bidwell: The Adventurous Life of a California Pioneer.

Bidwell’s Gold Discovery–part II

Posted on April 15, 2012 by nancyleek

When John Bidwell headed off to the Feather River to mine for gold, he didn’t just jump on his horse and go. There was planning to do, and Bidwell was always a man who planned carefully before taking a course … Continue reading →

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Bidwell Mansion and the BMA

Posted on April 3, 2012 by nancyleek

Last Saturday I participated in the Bidwell Mansion Fun Run (or in my case, Walk).  In spite of the rain I thoroughly enjoyed getting out with all the other Mansion supporters to help raise money and awareness for Chico’s centerpiece. … Continue reading →

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Bidwell’s Gold Discovery

Posted on March 31, 2012 by nancyleek

John Bidwell learned of Marshall’s gold discovery at Coloma shortly after Marshall showed his gold samples to John Sutter. Sutter asked Bidwell to take a sample to San Francisco, which he did, probably in early February 1848, being the first … Continue reading →

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How Well Do You Know John and Annie?

Posted on March 24, 2012 by nancyleek

Just for fun, here’s a little quiz about John and Annie Bidwell: 1.  John Bidwell came to California in: A) 1841    B) 1845    C)  1848 2.  John Bidwell called this man “the meanest man in California.”  He was referring to: … Continue reading →

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How much was $600 worth in 1847?

Posted on March 20, 2012 by nancyleek

When Lt. William T. Sherman met John Bidwell in 1847, Bidwell was searching for a runaway horse that had $600 in its saddlebags. This was money Bidwell had earned during a summer of surveying land for various people in 1847. … Continue reading →

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First Meeting: John Bidwell and William Tecumseh Sherman

Posted on March 18, 2012 by nancyleek

John Bidwell spent much of the 1840’s in California surveying land and mapping land grants for other men. It was during one of his surveying trips in 1847 that he met future Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman, he of … Continue reading →

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Bidwell Discovers Home

Posted on March 12, 2012 by nancyleek

“Hastening up the valley, we struck the trail of the Oregon company, on what is now known as Chico Creek, Rancho Chico, and to me one of the loveliest of places. The plains were covered with scattered groves of spreading … Continue reading →

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Bidwell Learns of the Gold Discovery

Posted on March 4, 2012 by nancyleek

John Bidwell was still doing occasional work for Sutter, but at the time of Marshall’s gold discovery in Coloma he was near Chico, building a log cabin, surveying some land, and digging an irrigation ditch. In August of 1845 he … Continue reading →

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More Searching for Gold

Posted on February 22, 2012 by nancyleek

Bidwell kept on wondering if there might be gold in the California hills. In 1845, while acting as Sutter’s manager, he went looking again. Years later he related the following: “In July, 1845 I went into the Sierra Nevadas ostensibly … Continue reading →

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Still Searching for Gold

Posted on February 8, 2012 by nancyleek

Throughout the 1840’s John Bidwell occasionally looked for gold in California, although he doesn’t seem to have put much effort into the project. During the Micheltorena War of 1845 he checked out a gold mine in the San Fernando Hills. … Continue reading →

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