Category Archives: Uncategorized

Then as now, it was a cultural advantage to have a college in Chico. John and Annie Bidwell frequently attended lectures and entertainments on campus, and they also frequently played host to visiting performers and lecturers. Lois McDonald wrote the … Continue reading →

For anyone interested in the history of Chico State, When Chico Stole the College, by “Old Hutch” (W.H. Hutchinson), is a fun and very short introduction.  I read it when I was researching Bidwell and the formation of Chico Normal … Continue reading →

It used to be common for teacher’s colleges to be called “normal schools.” The term has an odd ring to it, since the first meaning of “normal” that comes to mind is “typical, usual, average, ordinary.” We speak of “normal … Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

“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 →

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 →

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 →