Category Archives: Uncategorized

Please join the members of the Bidwell Mansion Association for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 29, 2012, at the Bidwell Mansion Visitor Center.  This is a free event, and if you are not already a member of the BMA, … Continue reading →

Charles Nordhoff toured California in the early 1870’s. In a previous post I quoted from his description of Rancho Chico, an establishment which he greatly admired. He also quoted General Bidwell on life at Rancho Chico in the 1850’s. “General … Continue reading →

I love to speak to groups—it’s a lot of fun to talk about John Bidwell and his world. It’s a real treat to interact with folks who love history. So if you know anyone looking for a speaker, send me … Continue reading →

I gave a talk in Stirling City yesterday to the Stirling City Historical Society. What a nice bunch of people! My friend Diane invited me to speak to them, and she and her husband David drove Jim and me up … Continue reading →

Did you know that in General Bidwell’s day, Rancho Chico was the premier agricultural showcase in the state? Anyone visiting California, who was interested in farming, came to Chico. Here is an excerpt from an 1873 book by Charles Nordhoff, … Continue reading →

Welcome to 2012! Here’s hoping that the year ahead will be a happy, healthy, and prosperous one for all of us. 2012 will be an important year for Bidwell Mansion. Either it will be closed by the Department of Parks … Continue reading →

By Christmas Day 1841, John Bidwell had been at John Sutter’s settlement for about a month. Sutter had enthusastically hired Bidwell and planned to send him off to the coast to oversee his acquisitition of Fort Ross. Bidwell described Sutter’s “Fort” as … Continue reading →

It seems that in 1841 California, Sutter’s establishment was like Rick’s Cafe Americaine in Casablanca. Everyone went there. Bidwell later wrote: “Nearly everybody who came to California made it a point to reach Sutter’s Fort. Sutter was one of the … Continue reading →

When John Bidwell finished rewriting his journal sometime in 1842, he sent it back to a friend in Missouri, probably in 1843, although who carried it there no one knows. He would later claim he did not intend it for … Continue reading →

John Bidwell arrived at Sutter’s “Fort” (no fort yet) on November 28th, and found Jimmy John there before him. Jimmy, who was ten years older than John, had been his companion on several adventures on the trail, notably their trip … Continue reading →