Settled in 1853 by a school teacher and his Cherokee Indian students from what is now the state of Oklahoma, Cherokee boomed from 1870-1886.
#48 Begin at the Beginning
Born in 1819, John Bidwell led the first overland expedition to California when he was 22. When he struck gold on the Feather River near Oroville,he bought 26,000 acres beside Chico Creek, and in 1860 founded Chico.
In 1868, after having served two years as a Washington congressman, he and Annie Kennedy were married with President Johnson attending.
Soon the Bidwells moved to Chico and worked in many causes including Indian education and women’s suffrage. Mr. Bidwell was also an amateur horticulturist, and planted many varieties of trees and shrubs on his vast land holdings and around the community.
The Bidwells entertained prominent Americans, including Susan B. Anthony and John Muir, until Bidwell died in 1900 and Annie in 1918.
In 1887 Bidwell donated the land for the state teacher’s college that later became CSUC; and Bidwell Park, about a mile east of the mansion, was donated to the city by Annie in 1905.
The three-story mansion is furnished with Victorian pieces, many having belonged to the Bidwells. The carriage house stores four of Bidwell’s carriages.
The mansion is home to many annual events including a Christmas Open House each December. Next to the mansion is a visitor center offering displays, a gift shop, and a 25-minute movie of this generous, progressive couple.
Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park
525 Esplanade • 530-895-6144
Sat.-Sun. 11-4, Mon. 12-4
#50 Step Into Another Era
Stansbury Home
Built by Dr. & Mrs. Oscar Stansbury in 1883, this home was designed in the Italianate Victorian style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the most original and unaltered homes in California. Because family members lived here until 1974, it contains many of the family’s original pieces.
Visiting here is a step into another era.
Stansbury Home
307 West 5th St. (530) 891-0585
Special Tours: (530) -343-6611
Sat & Sun 1-4 • Adults $4
Students $2, Under 10 Free
#59 Murals, Murals, on the Wall
You don’t have to be an art lover to enjoy the many murals on the CSUC campus and in Chico’s downtown area. All you need is a sense of fun.
#66 Still Playing
The Senator, built in 1928, is home to murals of Syrian Running Deer and a mural of Chico’s Hooker Oak Tree.
