Category Archives: Uncategorized

Take a ride on the Union and Central Pacific Railroads! This series of guidebooks told you everything you needed to know as you rode the train across the continent, bound for California. Once you got to the Golden State, the … Continue reading →

The following account was written for Annie Bidwell by one of her maids, Florence, who had gone with General Bidwell on the morning of April 4, 1900. I don’t know Florence’s last name. The account can be found in the … Continue reading →

Looking for an entertaining and historical way to spend a few hours? Time will fly while you peruse the pages of The Wasp, San Francisco’s premier satiric periodical, digitized by the California State Library and available online at the Internet … Continue reading →

My daughter, granddaughter, and I made our annual pilgrimage to Table Mountain today to look at the wildflowers. We knew it wouldn’t be the best year for them — no rain in January and February made the display kind of … Continue reading →

An “uncertain state of affairs” on Rancho Chico — the price of beef is low, old Mr. Potter is sick and near death, too many of the former employees were nothing but a “gang of loafers and idlers,” the cooking … Continue reading →

Here is another letter from Thomas Bidwell to his brother. John Bidwell was still in San Francisco, recuperating from an illness. Thomas says he has been sick too — probably both of them suffered from malaria contracted while crossing the … Continue reading →