Forty adventurous souls enjoyed a day of history.
We toured the John & Annie Bidwell Mansion in Chico, California. Around the 1850’s John purchased the 30,000 acre Mexican land grant of Rancho del Arroyo Chico. He built a store, hotel, post office, flour mill and farmed. He befriended the Mechoodpa Native Americans, moved the tribe to his estate to protect them and then they tended much of his vast land holdings. He entertained President Rutherford Hayes and Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. He served as a California Representative from 1865-6 and even ran for president in 1872. The mansion was beautifully restored and had many period furniture, much of which was theirs. The guide was very knowledgeable and had several cute stories. One was how he wooed Annie who was 28 years old and he was 50 when they married. It was all very interesting and fun.
We had a wonderful Sierra Nevada brewery lunch, sampled many of their famous brews then moved on to the Honey Run Covered Bridge. It was truly a great time. Even had a gift basket raffle.
