History of Chico, California

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The history of Chico, California, begins with the original inhabitants, the Mechoopda Maidu.

The city of Chico was founded in 1860 by General John Bidwell, a member of one of the first wagon trains to reach California in 1841. The city became incorporated January 8, 1872.

Historian W.H. "Old Hutch" Hutchinson identified five events as the most seminal in Chico history. They were

1. the arrival of John Bidwell in 1850
2. the arrival of the California and Oregon Railroad in 1870
3. the establishment of the Northern Branch of the State Normal School in 1887
4. the purchase of the Sierra Lumber Company by the Diamond Match Company in 1900
5. the development of the Army Air Base which is now the Chico Municipal Airport.^[1]

Since then, several seminal events have unfolded in Chico. These include: the construction and relocation of Highway 99E through town in the early sixties; Playboy Magazine naming Chico State the number one party school in the nation in 1987; and the establishment of a Green Line on the western city limits as protection of agricultural lands.