Fort Bidwell is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Modoc County Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is located northeast of

Alturas Alturas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi language, Achumawi: ''Kasalektawi'') is a city and the county seat of Modoc County, California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, the city had a population of ...

, at an elevation of 4564 feet (1391 m). Its population is 180 as of the 2020 census, up from 173 from the 2010 census.

Geography

Fort Bidwell is located near the north end of the Surprise Valley. The community's ZIP Code is 96112 and elevation is about . The coordinates for the town are . The airport, (FAA identifier: A28), is about north of the center of the community at . The Fort Bidwell Indian Community is affiliated with the

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

nation. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP covers an area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km), 99.48% of it land, and 0.52% of it water.

Climate

This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Fort Bidwell has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Communications

Wired telephone numbers in the community follow the format ( 530) 279-2xxx or 279-6xxx and appear to be served out of the Cedarville central office. Wired telephone service is provided by Citizens Utilities.

History

In 1865, General John Bidwell backed a petition from settlers at

Red Bluff, California Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,710 at the 2020 census, up from 14,076 at the 2010 census. It is located north of Sacramento, south of Redding, and it is bisect ...

to protect Red Bluff's trail to the Owhyhee Mines of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

commissioned seven forts for this purpose, and dispatched a Major Williamson in April to explore a site for a fort in either

Goose Lake Valley The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California in the United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Great Basin. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a lar ...

or Surprise Valley, from which he selected a site near

Fandango Pass The Fandango Pass (previously Lassen Pass; variants Lassen Cut-off, Lassen Horn) is a gap in the Warner Mountains of Modoc County, California, USA. Located in the Modoc National Forest, its elevation is above sea level. It is approximately s ...

at the base of the

Warner Mountains The Warner Mountains are an -long mountain range running north–south through northeastern California and extending into southern Oregon in the United States. The range lies within the northwestern corner of the Basin and Range Province, exte ...

in the north end of Surprise Valley, and orders to build the fort were issued on June 10, 1865. Although Surprise Valley settlers desired Army protection, ranchers dispossessed of lands for the fort complained, and claimed damages from the Army. The fort was built in 1865 amid escalating fighting with the

Snake Indians Snake Indians is a collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock (tribe), Bannock, and Shoshone Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribes. The term was used as early as 1739 by French trader an ...

of eastern

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and southern

. It was a base for operations in the

Snake War Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints ...

that lasted until 1868, the Battle of

Infernal Caverns Infernal Caverns is the site of an 1867 battle between U.S. armed forces and Shoshone, Paiute, and Pit River Indians. Infernal Caverns Battleground is California Historical Landmark No. 16. Location Infernal Caverns, also known as Hell Caves, ...

in 1867 with General

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

, the

Modoc War The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard Mu ...

of 1872–73 and the

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

and Nez Perce campaigns. Although traffic dwindled on the Red Bluff route once the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by Pacific Railroad Acts, U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in N ...

extended into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in 1868, the Army staffed Fort Bidwell to quell various uprisings and disturbances until 1890. Both Fort Bidwell and

Camp Bidwell Camp Bidwell, later Camp Chico, was a U.S. Army post during the American Civil War. Camp Bidwell was named for John Bidwell, the founder of the nearby town of Chico, California, and a brigadier general of the California Militia. It was established ...

, near Chico were named for General

John Bidwell John Bidwell (August 5, 1819 – April 4, 1900), known in Spanish as Don Juan Bidwell, was a Californian pioneer, politician, and soldier. Bidwell is known as the founder the city of Chico, California. Born in New York, he emigrated at the age of ...

. However, Camp Bidwell was commissioned in 1863, renamed ''Camp Chico'' by the time Fort Bidwell was commissioned in 1865, and was decommissioned in 1893. Observing confusion between the two, Robert W. Pease explained that such a transfer of name between outposts was a common Army practice of the time. The Fort Bidwell post office opened in 1868. A 1913 book described Fort Bidwell as having a population of about 200, and containing a school and reservation for the Northern Paiute Kidütökadö band (''Gidu Ticutta'' - ‘Yellow-bellied marmot-Eaters’, also called "Northern California Paiute"). Fort Bidwell is now registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#430.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Fort Bidwell had a population of 173. The population density was . The racial makeup of Fort Bidwell was 75 (43.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 2 (1.2%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 76 (43.9%) Native American, 0 (0.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 10 (5.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 10 (5.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 23 persons (13.3%). The Census reported that 173 people (100% of the population) lived in households. There were 79 households, out of which 17 (21.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 24 (30.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16 (20.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (3.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 7 (8.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 30 households (38.0%) were made up of individuals, and 14 (17.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19. There were 43

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(54.4% of all households); the average family size was 2.95. The population was spread out, with 35 people (20.2%) under the age of 18, 26 people (15.0%) aged 18 to 24, 29 people (16.8%) aged 25 to 44, 51 people (29.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 32 people (18.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males. There were 126 housing units at an average density of , of which 45 (57.0%) were owner-occupied, and 34 (43.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 14.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%. 80 people (46.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 93 people (53.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics