Butte County CA Archives History - Books .....Rancho Del Arroyo Chico 1882
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 17, 2005, 12:01 am

Book Title: History Of Butte County

RANCHO DEL ARROYO CHICO.

This magnificent ranch, the finest in Butte, and one of the most highly
developed in the state, we allude to at some length, because of its wide
celebrity and the perfect system under which it is conducted. The ranch consists
of more than twenty-two thousand acres. The first house erected thereon was bv
General Bidwell, the present owner, in 1849. This was burned in 1852, at which
time the old adobe was built which stood for many years. For a long time the
land was used exclusively for stock-raising, where a thousand head of horses and
three or four thousand head of cattle was kept both winter and summer. In time
the land became too valuable for pasture and then several thousand acres were
yearly sown to wheat and barley. An average of forty bushels to the acre was not
uncommon in the rich black land. After the ground had been sown to grain six or
eight years, the yield began to decrease. From, forty it went down to twenty.
Alfalfa was then sown, but not profitably. Other crops were tried and they in
turn failed to bring satisfactory returns; then Mr. Bidwell determined to
diversify his farming and work the huge estate as small farms are worked at the
east. As a result he has had for some years the most productive ranch in the
state. Early in the spring of 1852, Mr. Bidwell set out the first fruit-trees on
the ranch. This was the inception of the splendid orchards which now spread over
an immense area, yielding enormous quantities of fruit. The elegant mansion was
commenced in 1865 and finished in 1868, costing $60,000. More than fifty-five
buildings are on the ranch, including ten barns and many houses for residences.
The observatory and water-tower is one hundred feet high, containing a large
water-tank, from which pipes lead to the mansion and other buildings. On the
ranch is one of the finest fruit-drying establishments in the state, built in
1877. The building is two stories high and 40x80 feet in extent. In the basement
is a steam engine to furnish the needed motive power and heat for evaporating
fruit. The evaporator is a box-shaped apartment sixty feet in length and six
feet high. In the second story the dried fruit is boxed and made ready for
shipment. During the year 1881 nine thousand acres of land were under
cultivation, five thousand of which were in grain. Thirty-five hundred acres
were sown to wheat and fifteen hundred to barley. There are twelve hundred acres
in the orchard and vineyard, which contain 60,000 grape-vines, 2,000
apple-trees, 6,000 peach-trees, 2.500 plum-trees, and 1,000 pear trees, together
with a great number of other varieties of fruit. The almond orchard is very
large and produces many kinds of nuts. The product of the vineyard and orchard
last year was: peaches, 980.000 pounds; plums, 359,000; grapes, 269,000; apples,
154,000; pears, 50,000; cherries, 43,000; blackberries, 40,000; apricots,
20,000; almonds, 57,000; California walnuts, 10,000; English walnuts, 500;
strawberries, 700; gallons of vinegar, 4,000. Many beautiful avenues and drives
are laid out and improved through the grounds. Great attention is paid to the
cultivation of flowers, and thousands of rare and beautiful plants may be found
growing in abundance. General Bidwell is very hospitable, and throws his grounds
open to the public. About a mile from the mansion is the rancheria, where nearly
a hundred Indians reside. They are employed in doing work around the estate and
receive weekly salaries. Thirty of these are able-bodied men, some of whom have
been with General Bidwell since very early days. To do the work of the ranch one
hundred and eighty-six head of horses and mules are required. Every department
is brought under a most rigid system of surveillance, monthly reports being
required from the superintendents of different portions. The result is an
admirable and economical management of all its affairs.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA,
IN TWO VOLUMES.

I.
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA FROM 1513 TO 1850.
BY FRANK T. GILBERT.

The Great Fur Companies and their Trapping Expeditions to California.
Settlement of the Sacramento Valley. 
The Discovery of Gold in California.
BY HARRY L. WELLS.

II.
HISTORY OF BUTTE COUNTY,
From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. 
BY HARRY L. WELLS AND W. L. CHAMBERS.

BOTH VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS AND PORTRAITS.
HARRY L. WELLS,
517 CLAY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO
1882.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by HARRY L. WELLS, in
the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

FRANCIS, VALENTINE & Co., Engravers & Printers
517 Clay St., San Francisco



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