Category Archives: Uncategorized

If you like history (and you must since you are reading this blog), The History Blog is a great place to get your daily history fix. “Livius Drusus,” the editor of the blog, faithfully posts a history news item every … Continue reading →

Dow devoted not one, but two chapters of A Tour in America to General Bidwell’s Rancho Chico. His next chapter is about “A Fruit Orchard of 1000 Acres.” The 1000 acres of orchard and vineyard are not all in one … Continue reading →

John Bidwell was not a gambling man. In Gold Rush California, where men would bet on just about anything, and where horse-racing was popular entertainment, Bidwell generally stayed away. But one time he found himself the participant in a horse … Continue reading →

I just came across this book today: Romantic Cities of California, by Hildegarde Hawthorne, with illustrations by E. H. Suydam, published in 1939 by D. Appleton-Century Co.  It is a tour of the towns and cities of California, all up and … Continue reading →

Yippee! The California State Library choose my book Nancy Kelsey Comes Over the Mountain as their book of the week! This absolutely makes my day. Here’s what they said in their Facebook post: Book of the Week: Looking for a … Continue reading →

I’ve been going through letters in the John Bidwell Papers in the California State Library. Bidwell was the kind of man who held on to all his correspondence, and kept it well organized. Most of the letters deal with mundane … Continue reading →