First Bloom: Thursday Night Market Preview
5th Street Steakhouse
Bird In Hand
Bidwell Park
1911 parade up Broadway, just before the street was paved.
History Timeline of Downtown Chico
Explore the fascinating history of Downtown Chico and the surrounding area, by clicking the years below in the timeline.
History Timeline provided by the Chico Heritage Association and Butte County Historical Society.
History Timeline of Downtown Chico
1790
1790
Spanish settlements dotted Alta California as far north as the Bay Area,...Read more
1790
The Maidu villages dot the lands near Chico, where plants, fish, and game...Read more
1828
1828
From the beginning, Chico has been a stopping place for travelers through...Read more
1844
1844
John Bidwell, a young schoolmaster had come to California in 1841, and,...Read more
1845
1845
A few settlers, including 1841 immigant John Bidwell, erect cabins on the...Read more
1846
1846
The U. S. Army, coming through the area, records only Indian villages and...Read more
1848
1848
Gold is discovered! After finding traces of gold in the Feather River near...Read more
1848
At what will become Bidwell's Bar, he finds more gold, and soon local...Read more
1848
Bidwell's Bar shown in an 1856 painting.
1849
1849
John Bidwell uses his riches to buy half of Rancho Arroyo Chico (the Dickey...Read more
1850
1850
Like other settlers in the area, Bidwell began by raising cattle, sheep, or...Read more
1852
1852
Bidwell erects an adobe building along the old pack trail route which by...Read more
1852
The Entrance to Rancho Chico, at what would become Broadway at First St.,...Read more
1857
1857
Winter wheat, sown in the fall and harvested in early summer become the...Read more
1857
As gold miners become settlers, ranches such as the Guynn Ranch begin...Read more
1859
1859
Bidwell's early mill is torn down and the three-story Chico Roller Flouring...Read more
1861
1861
By 1860 Bidwell, apparently not wishing to use his own ranch land for a...Read more
1863
1863
An early school, the Chico Academy (also referred to as Woodman's Academy)...Read more
1863
Bidwell's next enterprise is to build a road going east across the...Read more
1863
Stock certificate
1863
Freight wagons on the Humboldt Road.
1863
The little triangles of land near 9th St., Main St., Broadway, and Humboldt...Read more
1868
1868
John Bidwell, now a Congressman, 1965-67, completes building a mansion for...Read more
1868
Soon the mansion grounds will be filled with a wide variety of ornamental...Read more
1868
The tree lined road (once the old pack trail) which would become The...Read more
1868
Soon the mansion grounds will be filled with a wide variety of ornamental...Read more
1869
1869
The Union House Hotel, in one of the earliest photos of Chico. From the...Read more
1869
Gas and water services come to Chico.
1870
1870
On July 2, 1870, the California & Oregon Railroad steams into Chico to...Read more
1871
1871
By 1863, Chico was an emerging town between Big Chico Creek and Little...Read more
1872
1872
As Chico incorporates in 1872, a town hall is built on the east Main St....Read more
1873
1873
The Sierra Flume and Lumber Company, (later the Sierra Lumber Co.) floated...Read more
1873
The water, originating in Chico Creek many miles upstream, dumps first into...Read more
1875
1875
Looking down Second Street at Broadway, the large building on the right,...Read more
1875
A series of disastrous downtown fires leads to the incorporation of Chico's...Read more
1875
Prominent townspeople pay for the privilege of serving as volunteer...Read more
1875
Children parade as Chico Fire Co. #1. The first Chico Fire Station on E....Read more
1877
1877
Among the famous people who visited the Bidwells was botanist Sir Joseph...Read more
1880
1880
By the 1870s the ranches around Chico are major producers and exporters of...Read more
1880
Mules are drawing a grain harvester.
1880
For many years, prior to refrigerated shipping, most fruit goes to market...Read more
1880
One of the first steam driven tractors.
1884
1884
Downtown, wooden buildings are replaced with brick. The town is beginning...Read more
1886
1886
Barley, from which malt is made, is a major crop in the area, supplying the...Read more
1888
1888
Chico Hotel at the Junction. The Junction was a center for transportation...Read more
1888
The State Normal School was established in 1887 to train teachers. It...Read more
1889
1889
The State Normal School was established in 1887 to train teachers. It...Read more
1890
1890
Telephone and telegraph lines are beginning to go in. The building on the...Read more
1890
The road north through Rancho Chico is becoming "The Esplanade".
1898
1898
Parades are held during the Chinese New Year shown here on 2nd Street...Read more
1900
1900
Looking north on Main Street, at 3rd Street.
1900
Looking from the fountain in the center of the Plaza, towards the corner of...Read more
1900
The diagonal rows of elm trees planted by Bidwell in the Plaza that he had...Read more
1900
The trees will last for over a century, growing into a densely shaded park.
1903
1903
The State Normal School has an Elementary School on site for practice...Read more
1903
The Normal School Class of 1903, a class of all ages. It includes...Read more
1903
The Diamond Match company builds a match and wood products plant just south...Read more
1903
The Diamond Match Company employees earnings increase prosperity in Chico,...Read more
1904
1904
Stage coach with passengers on Humboldt Road.
1904
Chico is chosen as one of the first two U. S. Agricultural Experiment...Read more
1905
1905
Moo Lung Dragon, A Chinese New Year's parade about 1905. The Loo Llung and...Read more
1905
After John Bidwells death in 1900, his wife Annie gives to the City of...Read more
1905
An early picnic in Bidwell park.
1905
A busy city street about 1905. Looking south on Broadway from 2nd St.
1905
The imposing Park Hotel, at the corner of 4th and Main. Traveler's continue...Read more
1905
A new Carnegie Library (left) is built as well as the Majestic Theatre on...Read more
1905
An electric trolley service is inaugurated in downtown Chico, extending...Read more
1905
1905
1905
1905
1905
1905
1905
1905
Northern Electric Depot at 1st and Main is a transportation center serving...Read more
1905
Meanwhile, horse and buggies still dominate the streets. Though there are a...Read more
1906
1906
In a photo, taken between 1905 and 1913, from the Main Street bridge across...Read more
1906
An imposing high school is built on 1st St., the present site of Chico...Read more
1908
1908
Southern Pacific, in an attempt to compete with the electric interurban,...Read more
1908
With a primitive but massive gasoline-powered engine, and looking...Read more
1908
Automobiles are just beginning to appear on Chico city streets. The...Read more
1908
Annie Bidwell writes "Come on in the water's fine..." Encouraging swimming...Read more
1908
Bidwell Park expands to include hundreds of acres up into Iron Canyon.
1908
1908
A large Rotunda Building at W. First and Flume provided a place for sports...Read more
1908
Bathing outfits begin to become acceptable and swimming in the Rotunda pool...Read more
1910
1910
Third St. looking West from Main St.
1910
The new Presbyterian Church is built at First and Broadway next to the old...Read more
1910
Chico Soda Works NE Corner of 5th and Ivy.
1910
The common use of bicycles for transportation evolves into social riding...Read more
1911
1911
New City Hall built 1911 at 5th and Main across from City Plaza. Streets in...Read more
1911
New City Hall built 1911 at 5th and Main across from City Plaza. Streets...Read more
1911
A parade up Main St. past City Hall. The Armory Bldg. is to the right in...Read more
1911
Parading up Broadway, just before the street was paved.
1913
1913
Getting a safe into a new two-story building challenges strength as well as...Read more
1913
Dr. N. T. Enloe, formerly a surgeon with the Sierra Lumber Co., builds a...Read more
1915
1915
A crowd gathered at the Railroad Depot for arrival of the Liberty Bell. It...Read more
1915
Bidwells store became Kilpatricks Groceteria from 1916 - 1932. Later the...Read more
1916
1916
In 1883 a new LaFrance Rotary Steam Engine had been purchased by the Fire...Read more
1916
The new La France... Seagraves No. 1 fire engine purchased in1916.
1917
1917
America enters the war in Europe, and Army recruitment takes place at the...Read more
1917
World War I. The nation has gone to war but the parades go on. "We've Got...Read more
1919
1919
The new State College building now as Kendall Hall the Administration...Read more
1920
1920
Main St. looking North. City Plaza and the Park Hotel on the left, and the...Read more
1920
Co-eds marching for Women's Suffrage.
1920
While California women had gotten the vote in 1912, suffrage efforts...Read more
1922
1922
A bike for every rider could be found at Pullins Cyclery.
1922
Chico is bike friendly from the beginning. Racers are ready to go. At the...Read more
1927
1927
Prosperous Chico, with wide streets and shady City Plaza, looking North...Read more
1927
The Diamond Match Co. at the end of W. 16th Streetplant grows to employ...Read more
1928
1928
The Esplanade becomes Hwy 99
1930
1930
The Chico Motorcycle Club in front of Park Garage on 4th St. between Main...Read more
1931
1931
High wheel bike in parade
1936
1936
A modern Enloe hospital is built on the Esplanade. Expanding over the years...Read more
1936
1937
1937
Errol Flynn and Patrick Knowles, while filming Robin Hood in the Park.
1939
1939
A new deal project creates a bathhouse at the One-Mile Dam and lines the...Read more
1939
Playground at One-Mile Recreation Area
1939
Depot for Greyhound Bus and Chico Transit Service.
1940
1940
On Main Street trains, cars, trolleys continue to co-exist. Looking north...Read more
1940
The South Park Drive entrance to Bidwell Park.
1941
1941
In 1935 the City of Chico purchases property north of town to create a...Read more
1941
Opening in 1942, the base will eventually employ 4000 personnel. Over 5500...Read more
1941
The base closes at the end of 1945, having made a dramatic impact on...Read more
1942
1942
Pre-War automobiles were the norm on City streets throughout World War II,...Read more
1947
1947
Pre-War automobiles were the norm on City streets throughout World War II,...Read more
1948
1948
In the late 1940s the old Northern Electric Station at 1st and Main becomes...Read more
1949
1949
The Hotel Oaks (2nd and Salem) Chico's only 6 story building, was also...Read more
1950
1950
Thriving in mid-century, Chico is an agricultural and shopping center.
1952
1952
Broadway looking north from 5th St. near the LaGrande Hotel.
1952
The Esplanade is still a serene tree-lined road with little traffic.
1955
1955
Co-eds show off the latest cool convertible, a 1956 Mercury, in the Pioneer...Read more
1955
Swimming at Five-Mile Recreation Area.
1960
1960
The University booms as vets and the first wave of Baby Boomers go to...Read more
1972
1972
A surprise snow storm in Chico.
1975
1975
The University continues to modernize. The Performing Arts Center is the...Read more
1976
1976
In 1976, Ken Grossman opened a homebrew supply store in downtown Chico,...Read more
1976
As he and fellow home brewer Paul Camusi got more into the craft,...Read more
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