AUGUST 2025 EDITION
articles
message from the president
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Dear BMA Members and Friends,
Since the fire last December, Bidwell Mansion has been at the center of both heartbreak and determination. The loss has been deeply felt, but in the months since, we’ve also seen resilience—in the dedication of the BMA board, in the careful preservation of what remains, and in the unwavering support from wonderful people like you. Your membership and support have allowed us to stay engaged, share updates, and keep the story of the mansion alive through every stage of this challenging time. While the future of the site itself is still unknown, the Board of the Bidwell Mansion Association, in partnership with State Parks, remains committed to keeping the spirit of the Bidwells and the mansion vibrant within our community. |
In the months ahead, we plan to host events, share stories, and create opportunities for members and the public to connect with the history and legacy of this remarkable place. These moments will help ensure that, even while the mansion is lost to us and the park remains closed, its presence and impact continue to be felt.
We are grateful for your continued commitment to the Bidwell Mansion. Together, we can honor its history, share its stories, and ensure its legacy is remembered for generations.
With gratitude,
Adrienne Glatz, President
Bidwell Mansion Association
We are grateful for your continued commitment to the Bidwell Mansion. Together, we can honor its history, share its stories, and ensure its legacy is remembered for generations.
With gratitude,
Adrienne Glatz, President
Bidwell Mansion Association
Photo Miraculously Survives
Bidwell Mansion Fire
by Steve Schoonover
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Fire is a capricious thing, burning some things and sparing others without any apparent rhyme or reason. That’s what Chico builder Tim Simonds found out in July at the ruins of Bidwell Mansion.
Simonds had a long history of working on the mansion. He built the carriage house at the location in 1988, and in 1997, he got the contract to remove two additions to the north side of the main house. Those were a kitchen Annie Bidwell had added in 1908, and a dining hall Chico State added in 1927, when the mansion was serving as a women’s dormitory. After those were removed, his job continued to rebuild the mansion’s north veranda, which had been removed to accommodate the additions. To do that, Simonds had to manufacture pillars to hold up the overhead balcony, matching the original pillars around the rest of the home. |
The pillars were largely hollow, and in a practice common among builders, he put something like a time capsule inside one. A copy of the Enterprise-Record, a Sierra Nevada Beer bottle, and a handful of change were among the items Simonds placed into the pillar. Finally, he placed a picture of his two young sons in an envelope and added that to the cache.
In July 2025, visiting the ruins of the mansion in the company of Matt Teague, the Northern Buttes District Superintendent of California State Parks, Simonds noted that part of the pillar was still standing, although it was largely burned.
The contractor investigated and found the beer bottle, blackened and broken in half by the heat. But inside a smoke-stained envelope was the picture of his sons, untouched by the fire that had destroyed so much around it.
It was miraculous, not just that the photo had survived, but that the post hadn’t been torn down before Simonds visited the mansion, something he’d put off because the sight of the ruins caused him grief.
Perhaps there’s hope that other treasures may be found as the debris is cleared away.
In July 2025, visiting the ruins of the mansion in the company of Matt Teague, the Northern Buttes District Superintendent of California State Parks, Simonds noted that part of the pillar was still standing, although it was largely burned.
The contractor investigated and found the beer bottle, blackened and broken in half by the heat. But inside a smoke-stained envelope was the picture of his sons, untouched by the fire that had destroyed so much around it.
It was miraculous, not just that the photo had survived, but that the post hadn’t been torn down before Simonds visited the mansion, something he’d put off because the sight of the ruins caused him grief.
Perhaps there’s hope that other treasures may be found as the debris is cleared away.
A Timeline of the Bidwell Mansion Fire
2024
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May–June: Work begins on a $2.3 million restoration project on Bidwell Mansion. The project includes the replacement of the roof and decorative features that have deteriorated, the replacement of a few windows, some exterior stucco work, and painting. The work is expected to be finished in the spring of 2025.
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(Matt Bates/University Photographer/Chico State)
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Wednesday, December 11: About 2 a.m., an arsonist breaks a window, pours gasoline into the Bidwell Mansion, and ignites it. For reasons that may never be determined, the fire and burglar alarms fail to go off. The fire smolders and grows for a little over an hour before it is discovered. By then, it’s too late, and despite efforts by the Chico Fire Department and Cal Fire, the building is gutted by the flames. The Architect House, Carriage House, and Visitor Center were not damaged during the fire.
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Sunday, December 15: An extensive investigation that includes viewing countless hours of surveillance tapes from front door cameras owned by private citizens and other sources identifies a vehicle with unique characteristics approaching the mansion before the fire and leaving afterward, according to District Attorney Mike Ramsey. The vehicle’s owner is considered a potential suspect.
Tuesday, December 17: An official determination is made that the fire was arson, and the public is notified. |
2025
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Sunday, December 15–Thursday, January 2: Further investigation finds the vehicle’s owner, Kevin Alexander Carlson, 30, of Chico, made suspicious purchases of materials that could be used for arson the day before the fire was ignited, according to Ramsey. Additional surveillance tapes show a man resembling Carlson in the vicinity of the mansion at the time of the fire.
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Thursday, January 2: Carlson is arrested and jailed on charges of arson.
Wednesday, February 5: Carlson pleads no contest to the arson charge. Thursday, March 5: Carlson is sentenced to the maximum of 11 years in prison, but his anticipated release date is July 4, 2030, a bit over five years. Ramsey pointed out that had the crime occurred just a week later, Proposition 36 would have been in effect, and Carlson would have faced a much longer sentence. Currently, he is serving his sentence at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, CA. |
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Wednesday, March 18: New fencing is erected around Bidwell Mansion, and the park remains closed. Funds from the original restoration project were used to help build the fence.
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Thursday, July 9: Work begins on cleaning up debris around the outside of Bidwell Mansion. The work is concluded on July 30. Thirteen containers of hazardous waste were hauled to a special disposal facility, according to State Parks Northern Buttes District Supervisor Matt Teague. Another five containers of steel—mostly scaffolding from the restoration work underway at the time of the fire—went to a recycling site. The cleanup is budgeted at $250,000, but Teague says the exact cost is not known as of the deadline.
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What’s Next
State Parks has hired a contractor to lead public outreach meetings and gather input on the community’s vision for the mansion’s future. Public hearings are expected to begin in September.
In addition, with the removal of debris outside the mansion, crews will be able to enter the building to evaluate its structural integrity and determine whether any cultural artifacts survived the flames. No timeline for that work has been announced.
State Parks has hired a contractor to lead public outreach meetings and gather input on the community’s vision for the mansion’s future. Public hearings are expected to begin in September.
In addition, with the removal of debris outside the mansion, crews will be able to enter the building to evaluate its structural integrity and determine whether any cultural artifacts survived the flames. No timeline for that work has been announced.
Looking at Bidwell Ledgers
by Nancy Leek
The California State Library contains multiple volumes of store blotters, day books, ledgers, and bookkeeping journals from some 50 years of transactions on Rancho Chico.
I went to the state library in July to look at ledgers from the 1860s. I didn’t plan to look at the store blotters for John Bidwell’s store – that was not my goal -- but I find these lists of daily sales irresistible.
Some of the names that appear will be well-known to historians of Chico. For instance, on February 1, 1867, butcher John Kempf bought a ream of wrapping paper for $2.87, and on May 29, he bought a pitcher for $1.25 and a 20 lb. bag of rock salt for $.63.
Typical prices include a dozen eggs, 25¢, a pound of butter, 50¢, a pound of sugar, 15¢, and a bottle of whiskey, 75¢. A 10 lb. can of lard cost $2.00, 10 lbs. of beans cost 50¢, and one “paper” of saleratus (baking powder) cost 20¢. An ax cost $2.00 and a broom only 40¢.
Here are the purchases of a Chinese man named Ah Jake on February 12, 1867:
Typical prices include a dozen eggs, 25¢, a pound of butter, 50¢, a pound of sugar, 15¢, and a bottle of whiskey, 75¢. A 10 lb. can of lard cost $2.00, 10 lbs. of beans cost 50¢, and one “paper” of saleratus (baking powder) cost 20¢. An ax cost $2.00 and a broom only 40¢.
Here are the purchases of a Chinese man named Ah Jake on February 12, 1867:
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I’ll go back to look at more, someday soon.
Find an extended version of this article on Nancy's blog, Goldfields.
Would you picnic in a cemetery?
Enjoying a book and a snack at St. Paul's Church, New York City, circa 1890. Image: Library of Congress
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Before the Victorian period (1837–1901), most burials took place in churchyards. By the early 19th century, booming cities and industrial growth left those churchyards overflowing. The cholera outbreaks in the 1830s–40s proved just how dangerous overcrowded burial grounds could be.
Enter the “garden” or “rural” cemetery. This movement created a sprawling park-like alternative, featuring winding paths, shady trees, Gothic and Classical architecture, elaborate mausoleums, and statuary worthy of a museum. Many doubled as arboretums, and some even had water features. Here, people strolled the paths, painted and sketched, admired the flowers, and, yes, spread a blanket among the headstones for a picnic. |
To modern eyes, that might seem odd or even disrespectful (and we’ll get into how this view came to be). But to Victorians, it was hardly abnormal. They had a far more familiar relationship with death and a detailed etiquette for bereavement. To them, leisure time among the dead was a way to honor them, reflect on mortality, and enjoy a sunny afternoon.
But there were also “rules” to follow (and really, would it even be Victorian if there weren’t any rules?). Some of the more common ones were to make sure your blanket never covered someone's grave that wasn’t a part of your family; dress respectfully and bring food that wasn’t messy to eat; and while fun was allowed, loud conversations and rowdy games were frowned upon.
But there were also “rules” to follow (and really, would it even be Victorian if there weren’t any rules?). Some of the more common ones were to make sure your blanket never covered someone's grave that wasn’t a part of your family; dress respectfully and bring food that wasn’t messy to eat; and while fun was allowed, loud conversations and rowdy games were frowned upon.
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Many families also took this opportunity to tidy family plots and to place fresh flowers at headstones. Some cemeteries even encouraged visitors with guidebooks and carriage tours—Père Lachaise in Paris, Mount Auburn Cemetery located on the Watertown/Cambridge line in Massachusetts, and Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, were just a few that drew thousands of people on pleasant days. These outings were part memorial, part architectural and botanical tour, and maybe even a subtle way to shop for your future resting place.
By the early 20th century, public parks became more common, giving people other places to gather. After World War I and the devastation of the 1918 influenza pandemic, cemeteries shifted from places of leisure to places of deep grief. The idea of having “fun” in a cemetery began to feel disrespectful to the lives lost and insensitive to the grieving families. Over time, outings and picnics gave way to Memorial Day and private family visits. Dining among the dead fell out of fashion, leaving cemeteries the quiet, contemplative places we know today. |
Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, circa 1890. Courtesy Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum
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However, the social hesitation of being in a cemetery without mourning is again beginning to fade. Today, many people are rediscovering these spaces as peaceful places for walking, quiet reflection, and exploration. Many cemeteries again host guided tours, historical talks, and even community events, inviting visitors to appreciate their beauty and history. And for family historians, they remain invaluable archives rich with genealogical treasures.
So take an afternoon to explore your local cemetery—you may be surprised at the history, beauty, and stories waiting there.
So take an afternoon to explore your local cemetery—you may be surprised at the history, beauty, and stories waiting there.
Curious About What a Picnic in a Cemetery Would Be Like?
Join us Saturday, September 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., for a Victorian Picnic in the beautiful historic section of the Chico Cemetery.
Join us Saturday, September 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m., for a Victorian Picnic in the beautiful historic section of the Chico Cemetery.
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Spend an afternoon steeped in Victorian charm among the shady paths and historic stones of Chico Cemetery. Enjoy a delicious boxed lunch, engaging conversation, and a guided tour through the cemetery’s oldest section.
Along the way, you’ll uncover fascinating tales of Victorian customs, their unique views on life and death, and meet some of the cemetery’s most notable “permanent residents.” Whether you’re a history buff, a fan of local lore, or simply curious about a bygone era, this one-of-a-kind gathering blends storytelling, atmosphere, and community in a setting as beautiful as it is historic. Tickets are available on our event page! Space is limited to 50 people. |
Be Part of Bidwell Mansion’s Ongoing Story
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Last December’s fire forever changed the story of Bidwell Mansion, and while the park remains closed, we are embarking on a new chapter. The history, the legacy, and the connections the mansion and the Bidwells have built in our community are still here—and worth celebrating.
By becoming a BMA member or renewing your membership, you help:
Membership also includes benefits like a 10% discount in the General’s Store (when the Visitor Center reopens) and invitations to special BMA events. Even in this time of change, your membership strengthens our ability to honor the past and keep the story alive for future generations. Please consider becoming a member or renewing your membership. |
Join the BMA Board and Make a Difference
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The Bidwell Mansion Association is looking for passionate, committed individuals to join our Board of Directors. While the mansion itself remains closed, our work to share its history, connect with the community, and plan meaningful events continues.
As a board member, you’ll help guide our projects, shape programs, and ensure the spirit of the Bidwells and the mansion remains strong in Chico. Whether you bring experience in history, education, fundraising, event planning, or simply a love for this historic site, we welcome your perspective. |
If you’re ready to contribute your time and talents, we’d love to hear from you. Visit our board member application to learn more.
