Author Archives: nancyleek

The Gold Rush brought men from all over the world to California. About 2000 of those men were black Americans — both enslaved and free. One group of African American miners banded together and called their mine the “Sweet Vengeance … Continue reading →

And wouldn’t I love to browse in that one. Something for everyone, including musical instruments, at the Pioneer Book Store on Montgomery Street in San Francisco. The image is from the “Robert B. Honeyman, Jr. Collection of Early Californian and … Continue reading →

We get a glimpse of Chico in the 1860s from a profile of John Bidwell published in the San Jose Mercury on April 7th, 1864. It was written by John C. McPherson, whom Bancroft described as “a Scotchman of good … Continue reading →

A cold, clear morning in January 1848. Jim Marshall goes out early to check the tailrace of the sawmill that he is building for John Sutter on the American River. The night before he had turned the water from the … Continue reading →

Looking for something completely different in John Bidwell’s diaries, I came across this notation for June 26, 1881: Events: Slept in tower to watch the comet The tower of Bidwell Mansion would be a great viewing platform for watching a … Continue reading →

Noodling around the Internet Archive and I found this, a collection of brief autobiographies of the members of the California legislature. The first legislature consisted of 36 Assemblymen and 16 Senators. They began their deliberations on Monday, December 17, 1849. … Continue reading →

Once again the Bidwell Mansion Association was unable to celebrate the holidays in person at Bidwell Mansion with a party for members and guests. Instead we created a virtual holiday celebration. Join with John and Annie Bidwell and their dinner … Continue reading →

My final selections from the Christmas pictorial issue of the Oroville Daily Butte Record for 1857. That last image of false teeth was usually employed in advertisements for dentists. And as long as we are on the subject of roast … Continue reading →

A few random bits from the Butte Record’s Christmas pictorial. The text was dictated by the engravings available and the imagination of the editor. Quartz mills for extracting gold were common, but not quite that small. The printer’s devil was … Continue reading →