Butte
NO. 313 HOOKER OAK - In 1887 Annie E. K. Bidwell named this huge oak after English botanist Sir Joseph Hooker. When it fell during a windstorm in 1977, it was estimated to be over a thousand years old - it was nearly a hundred feet tall and 29 feet in circumference eight feet from the ground. The largest branch measured 111 feet from trunk to tip - circumference of outside branches was nearly five hundred feet.
Location: Bidwell Park, Hooker Oak Recreation Area, Manzanita Ave between Vallombrosa and Hooker Oak Ave, Chico
NO. 314 OLD SUSPENSION BRIDGE - The Mother Orange Tree of Butte County was planted at this spot by Judge Joseph Lewis in 1856. The Bidwell Bar Bridge, first suspension bridge of California, was transported from New York via Cape Horn 1853 and was completed 1856. Its site is now inundated by Oroville Reservoir.
Location: Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, Bidwell Canyon, Bidwell Canyon Rd, Oroville
NO. 329 RANCHO CHICO AND BIDWELL ADOBE - The 26,000-acre Rancho Chico was purchased in 1845-50 by John Bidwell. In 1865 he began construction of the mansion, which in time became the social and cultural center of the upper Sacramento Valley. It was through his advancement of agriculture, however, that Bidwell made his greatest contribution. Plants from all over the world were introduced to Rancho Chico to open the door to California's present agricultural treasure house.
Location: Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, 525 The Esplanade, Chico
NO. 330 BIDWELL'S BAR - From 1853 to 1856 Bidwell's Bar served as the second county seat of Butte County. The site of the courthouse, now inundated by Oroville Reservoir, is 120 yards west of this small monument.
Location: Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, Bidwell Canyon, Bidwell Canyon Rd, Oroville
NO. 770 CHINESE TEMPLE - Dedicated in the spring of 1863, this building served as a temple of worship for 10,000 Chinese then living here. Funds for its erection and furnishings were provided by the Emperor and Empress of China - local Chinese labor built the structure. The building was deeded to the City of Oroville in 1935 by the Chinese residents.
Location: 1500 Broderick St, Oroville
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: NPS-76000478
NO. 771 DOGTOWN NUGGET DISCOVERY SITE - The Dogtown nugget was discovered April 12, 1859 at the Willard Claim, a hydraulic mine in the Feather River Canyon northeast of the town.
Location: 0.3 mi N of Pentz-Magalia Rd on Skyway, Magalia
NO. 807 OREGON CITY - Entering California over the Applegate and Lassen Trails, a party of Oregonians arrived here in autumn of 1848 to establish Oregon City. Little more than a year later their captain, Peter H. Burnett, became the first civil Governor of California. For a time, Oregon City prospered as a gold mining and supply center - then it declined into virtual oblivion.
Location: Diggins Dr between Oroville and Cherokee
NO. 809 DISCOVERY SITE OF THE LAST YAHI INDIAN - Ishi, a Yahi Yana Indian, was the last of his people. Prior to European contact, the Yana population numbered approximately 3,000. In 1865 Ishi and his family were the victims of the Three Knolls Massacre, from which approximately 30 Yahi survived. The remaining Yahi escaped but were forced into hiding after cattlemen killed about half of the survivors. Eventually all of Ishi's companions died, and he was discovered by a group of butchers in their corral at Oroville, August 29, 1911. Alfred L. Kroeber and T. T. Waterman, anthropologists at the University of California, Berkeley, brought Ishi to San Francisco where he helped them reconstruct Yahi culture. He identified material items and showed how they were made. Ishi's death in 1916 marked the end of an era in California.
Location: 2547 Oroville-Quincy Hwy at Oak Ave, Oroville
NO. 840-2 CHICO FORESTRY STATION AND NURSERY In 1888, the State Board of Forestry established an experimental forestry station and nursery. It and the Santa Monica station established in 1887 were the first such stations in the Nation. Exotic and native trees were tested and produced for scientific and conservation purposes. The station was operated by the Board of Forestry until 1903.
Location: Bidwell Nature Center, Cedar Grove Picnic Area, Cedar Grove and E 8th, Bidwell Park, Chico
NO. 1043 Mother Orange Tree of Butte County - Judge Joseph Lewis planted this Mediterranean Sweet Orange seedling near the toll bridge at Bidwell’s Bar, Butte County, in 1856. It has survived hard times and is the oldest living orange tree in California. “From its example and largely from its offspring, a new industry was started in a new section hundreds of miles north of a known citrus region. It was a true Pioneer.” – Dr. H. J. Webber, Director, Citrus Experiment Station, Riverside, 1927. The Mother Orange was moved from Bidwell Bar during the construction of Oroville Dam in 1964 to protect it from inundation.
Location: 400 Glen Drive, Oroville