BIDWELL MANSION ASSOCIATION

The Bidwell Mansion Association (BMA) is dedicated to the restoration, preservation, and interpretation of
Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, the 1868 home of John Bidwell, founder of the city of Chico, California.

Great News!

The Mansion and Visitors Center are OPEN!

Guided tours of Bidwell Mansion are on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, beginning in the Visitors Center at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. The Visitors Center and the General’s Store are also open 10 a.m.— 3 p.m.

For more information or to schedule tours, please contact State Parks at
(530) 895-6144. See below for more information.

Print by Jake Early

events

Annual members meeting

Sunday, January 28, 2024
Free and open to the public

5:30 p.m. – Reception
6 p.m. – Short Business Meeting
6:30 p.m. – Guest Speaker, Paul Belz

We invite you to join us for our Annual Members Meeting of the Bidwell Mansion Association. All BMA members and guests are welcome to attend.

After a brief business meeting, we are excited to hear from author Paul Belz about his new book, Bidwell Park: Personal Reflections and Casual Conversations about Chico’s Crown, where he explores the park through conversations with notable and knowledgeable friends who share their insights on it’s history, geology, ecology, wildlife, and the controversies that have shaped the development of Chico’s “crown jewel.”

Thank you for your membership support — we look forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting!

Christmas with the bidwells

Thank you to everyone who joined General and Mrs. Bidwell in celebrating the holiday season. We had a wonderful time meeting with guests, singing in the parlor, eating cookies, and listening to Bidwell, General Sherman, and Dr. Stansbury share stories in the mansion. Such a delightful event!

If you missed any of their conversation, head on over to our YouTube channel, where you will also find videos of past events.

Proceeds from this event benefit education and interpretation at Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park.

General announcement

We are working on our 2023–2024 events calendar and hope to bring back some of our beloved in-person events (and a few new ones). We are also exploring more virtual opportunities to engage with our members and the community.

Please be sure to check back often—we will be posting updates as they come in. Or go to our BMA Facebook page for more fun and interesting posts. And don't forget visit the Bidwell Mansion SHP Facebook page for some of their exciting posts about the Mansion.

As always, thank you for your support!

summer with the bidwells

We had a great time celebrating Summer with the Bidwells on Saturday, June 25 at the Mansion. It was a wonderful opportunity to invite the public to meet General and Mrs. Bidwell and their friends, while enjoying live music, lawn games, ice cream, casaba melon planting, and tours of the Mansion.

We look forward to planning more events like this throughout the year, so stay tuned.

Celebrate the holidays with the bidwells—2021 Virtual Event

Grab a plate of Christmas cookies and a cup of eggnog or sparkling cider, and sit down at your computer, smart phone, tablet, or smart TV, for our virtual presentation of Christmas with the Bidwells. Enjoy an amusing tale told by John Bidwell and his friend Mr. Swasey, about their first Christmases at Sutter's Fort.

The video can be seen on the BMA YouTube channel by going here, or by clicking the embedded video to the right.

BMA HAPPENINGS

MRS. BIDWELL INVITES YOU TO BECOME A BMA MEMBER

Your membership support of the BMA is greatly appreciated. Because of your membership we are able to support the educational programs at Bidwell Mansion SHP, and sponsor Friday tours of the Mansion during the summer. We welcome new members and are looking forward to your participation and hope you continue as members into the future. Click here to join or renew your membership

We would also like to thank our members who annually renew and make donation to the Bidwell Mansion. Your generosity is truly exceptional—THANK YOU!

BMA NEWSLETTER – WE'VE GOT ALL THE DETAILS

Wondering what's going on at the Bidwell Mansion? Check out our current and past newsletters and get up-to-date with all the happenings, BMA activities, and upcoming events. You don't want to miss out!

join our mailing list and stay connected

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bidwell mansion historic state park hours

Guided tours of Bidwell Mansion are held on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, starting in the Visitor Center at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.

Price: Adults: $6 | Youth under 18: $3

Tours are on a first come-first serve basis, and are limited to 10 people. Tours can be reserved day of by calling (530) 895-6144.

The Visitor Center and the General’s Store are also open
10 a.m.— 3 p.m. during the above days.

More Info at the State Park website.

Take a Video tour of bidwell mansion

Join Bidwell Mansion SHP's own with Noel Lopez as he gives a tour of the Mansion and talks about the history of the Bidwells in California on C-SPAN3–American History TV.

Click HERE to watch the episode.

STAY CONNECTED

Check us out on Facebook where you can get updated information on Association activities and events. Please click on this link to "Like" us! In addition, click here to visit Nancy Leek's Bidwell Blog! Another way to connect is by becoming a member. Please click on the button below to begin enjoying the benefits of being a member of the Bidwell Mansion Association!

FACEBOOK

BECOME A MEMBER

BIDWELL BLOG

join our mailing list and stay connected

I want to stay connected!

MAKE A GIFT

Consider making a gift to continue education, preservation, and interpretation at Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park

John and Annie Bidwell