Drive
through Northern California and you will find a Bidwell street, park, or
building in most cities. Still, I doubt
many actually know why the street bears the name. In
truth, the namesakes most probably honor John Bidwell, a
California pioneer, politician, farmer, and philanthropist. Nevertheless, his
wife, Annie, contributed quite a bit to our golden state of California as well.
Annie
Bidwell’s Early Years
Annie’s
early
years shaped her belief system and future.
She was born into an upper-middle-class family and raised in Washington
D.C. In her early teen years, she became
a devout Presbyterian, leading her to devote her life to social issues, like
conservation, women’s suffrage, and prohibition.
In fact, her many friends included Susan B. Anthony, Frances Willard,
and John Muir.
Annie Marries
and Begins Work on Her Passions
While
John was in Washington D.C. for political reasons, he met Annie and fell in
love. They soon married and moved back
to his home in Chico, California. John
had become quite wealthy in California during the gold rush, pouring all of it
into acres of land and a mansion known as Rancho Arroyo Chico.
John
was remarkably close to a local tribe called the Mechoopda and the land. This love of the land and people also shaped
him into a conservationist, which would ultimately lead Annie to feel the same.
Annie’s
concern for the Mechoopda led her to become active in Indian Associations and
to seek support for a land-grant bill allowing Native Americans to own land. Due to her strong religious beliefs, she built
a church and preached Christian values.
Beyond that, she deeply cared for her native neighbors. She built a school for the children, became
their teacher, and taught sewing to women.
She
also shared her husband’s love of the land, ultimately becoming somewhat of an
amateur botanist—the Bidwell's Knotweed (Polygonum bidwelliae) is
Annie’s find. This shared interest led
the Bidwells to meet John Muir.
According to The Sierra
Club, “The Bidwells met John Muir on an 1877 botanical expedition to Mt.
Shasta and the headwaters of the Sacramento River with famed Harvard botanist
Asa Gray and his wife, and British botanist Sir Joseph Hooker. Thus began a
lifetime friendship of thirty-seven years.”
How
Annie Continued to Contribute After Her Death
After John passed, Annie built homes for the Mechoopda and ensured
they would own the property even after her death. She also donated
over two thousand acres to the city of Chico for one of the largest city parks
in the country. Bidwell Mansion, which
was once a place of grand parties hosting the likes of President Rutherford B.
Hayes ultimately became a State Historic Park open to
the public.
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