goldfields

The Gridley Herald for October 21, 1925, published an account of the pioneer monument dedication, but does not mention the time capsule hidden in the base.

With appropriate ceremonies and before hundreds of residents of Butte County, together with representative people from many part of the state, the granite monument and bronze tablet erected to commemorate General and Mrs. Bidwell and the pioneers of the state was unveiled Friday afternoon by Mrs. Lily Bidwell Collins and Miss Anne Ellicott Kennedy, direct descendents of Chico’s two most outstanding pioneers.

Mrs. Collins and Miss Kennedy were close relatives, but not direct descendents of the Bidwells, who had no children of their own. Lily Bidwell was the daughter of Thomas Bidwell, John’s brother, and his wife, America. After his brother’s death the General took financial responsibility for Lily’s upbringing and education.

Annie Ellicott Kennedy was the daughter of Joseph Kennedy and his wife Winifred Moon. Joseph was the son of Annie’s brother and thus Annie’s nephew. Born in 1907, Annie’s grand-niece would have been 18 at the dedication.

It was a gala day in Chico’s history. Chico schools were dismissed and the children came to attend the the exercises in a group, supervised by their teachers. There were speeches by the mayor and other notables, and music by the Chico High School band and the college chorale. Guests of honor on the platform included “Mrs. Amanda Wilson, one of Chico’s native Indians, who was a close friend of Mrs. Bidwell” and Mr. C. C. Forbes, who was instrumental in obtaining the marker.

Be sure to come on Saturday, November 29 to find out what is in the time capsule. My thanks to Ranger Kirk Coon for giving me a photocopy of the newspaper article.

Haven’t you always wanted to see a time capsule opened? Especially if it is a mystery time capsule. with no record of who planted it or what is inside?

Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park has it’s very own mystery time capsule. It was discovered when this monument had to be moved. 

The monument stands at the corner of the Esplanade and So-Wil-Le-No Ave., right next to Chico Creek. The city is improving the street and sidewalk, so they had to move the monument 10 feet back. When they took the upright off the base, they found inside a copper box sealed with lead solder. No inscription, no instructions.

The monument was erected in 1925 by the Pioneer Historic Association of California (which no longer exists) to honor John and Annie Bidwell and all the pioneers of California. It marks the spot where Bidwell’s adobe stood by the side of the road that led to the northern mines and Oregon.

What do you guess might be inside the box? A dry and dusty scroll commemorating the occasion? Pictures by school children? Mementos of John and Annie? A nice big gold nugget?

The way to find out is to come to the grand opening on Saturday, November 29th at 10 a.m. at Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park. Come and find out what was placed in the time capsule 89 years ago. It’a an historic occasion! 

“Saturday, 30th. We had gone about 3 miles this morning, when lo! to our great delight, we beheld a wide valley! This we had entirely overlooked between us and the high mountains which terminated our view yesterday. Rivers evidently meandered through it, for timber was seen in long extended lines as far as the eye could reach. But we were unable to reach it today, and encamped in the plains. Here grew a few white oaks. Traveled today about 20 miles. Saw many tracks of elks. The valley was wonderfully parched with heat, and had been stripped of its vegetation by fire. Wild geese, fowls, etc. , were flying in multitudes.”

Just the day before, as the men gazed from the foothills at the coastal range, “Mr. Hopper, our best and most experienced hunter, observed that, “If California lies beyond those mountains we shall never be able to reach it.”” They had no idea that they were already in California.

That morning, the 30th, they breakfasted on coyote, and all Bidwell got was the lungs and the windpipe. Then as they traveled further down through the hills, following the Stanislaus River, they came upon this glorious view. California lay before them, and it was everything they had been promised: a fertile land teeming with wild game, with a healthy climate and plenty of room for all. California at last!

John Marsh in 1852

John Marsh’s letters were a prime motivator in getting John Bidwell to California. Marsh, already living in California, wrote to Missouri newspapers and extolled the attractions of his new home. That, plus the tales told by Antoine Robidoux, convinced John Bidwell to start up the Western Emigration Society and gather folks to go with him to a place 2000 miles away.

At the end of their trek the Bidwell-Bartleson party of exhausted pioneers were welcomed by John Marsh himself, who fed them and told them what their next moves should be (get a passport, find a job.)  At the time Marsh was living on a Mexican land grant in an adobe house. That house is long gone, but Marsh’s later house is still standing, although in desperate needed of restoration.

The John Marsh Historic Trust has taken on the task of restoring the house, and Marsh Creek State Park is the newest state park in California. Together the trust members and state parks crews are working to renovate the house and someday open it to the public.

On Saturday, October 11, the John Marsh Historic Trust is hosting a FREE Heritage Day at the rancho with tours, booths, Native American dancing, roping and riding, speakers (including me), and lots of activities for the kids. This is a great opportunity to get a rare look at California history at a state park that is not yet open to the public (except on this one special day).

The park is located just south of Brentwood, near Mt. Diablo. Here’s a picture of the house I took about a year ago. You can find better photos at http://www.johnmarshhouse.com.

John Marsh’s Stone House

If you enjoy stories about California history, then this book is for you: Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots and Rogues, by Gary Noy. I saw the author last night at Lyon Books; he brings the Sierra Nevada to life with stories about the people and their “magnificent peculiarities.”

Some of these personalities you have probably heard of, like Lola Montez, the exotic “Spanish” dancer (born in Ireland), the artist Albert Bierstadt, whose paintings of the Sierra were more beautiful than the original, and the photographer Eadweard Muybridge, famous for his “moving pictures” photos and for shooting his wife’s lover. But most of them are forgotten today, ones like beloved soprano Kate Hayes, the “Swan of Erin” and Okei Ito, founder of the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Company.

Each chapter is short, but packed with entertaining information, and each chapter ends with another little related story, making for 64 stories all told. Gary Noy selected these 64 from some 300 stories he has collected over the years as he roamed the byways of the Sierra Nevada and delved into the archives of California history.

It is impossible to pick a favorite story, but one of the best is the tale of “The Ultimate Thrill” of riding the Bonanza V flume near Virginia City at a speed so fast that it seemed to “annihilate time and space.”

Pick this book up and you will enjoy every chapter.