Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, CA metropolitan statistical area. It is ...

, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the 2018

Camp Fire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

that destroyed much of the town of

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

, the population of Oroville increased as many people who lost their homes relocated to nearby Oroville. In 2019, the California Department of Finance estimated the population of Oroville is 20,737. Oroville is considered the gateway to

Lake Oroville Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in th ...

and

Feather River The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over . The main stem Feather R ...

recreational areas. The

Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California The Berry Creek Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California are a Native American people based in northeastern California, south of Lassen Peak. They historical have spoken the Konkow language, also known as Northeastern Maidu. They are a federally ...

is headquartered in Oroville. Oroville is located adjacent to State Route 70, and is in close proximity to State Route 99, which connects Butte County with

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

. The city of Chico is located about 23 miles (38 kilometers) northwest of the city, and the state capital of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

lies around 70 miles (112 kilometers) to the south. Oroville's nickname is the "City of Gold", basically just the Spanish name of the city in English. Oroville has also been declared a

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...

for 41 years by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

History

Oroville is situated at the base of the foothills on the banks of the

where it flows out of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

onto the flat floor of the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

. It was established as the home base of navigation on the Feather River to supply gold miners during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. The town was originally named "

Ophir Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks. ...

City", but was later changed to Oroville when the first post office opened in 1854 (''oro'' is the Spanish word for 'gold'). The City of Oroville was incorporated on January 3, 1906. Gold was found at Bidwell Bar, one of the first gold mining sites in California, bringing thousands of prospectors to the Oroville area seeking riches. Now inundated by the waters of enormous

, which was filled in 1968, Bidwell Bar is memorialized by the

Bidwell Bar Bridge The Bidwell Bar Bridge, in Oroville, California, refers to two suspension bridges that cross different parts of Lake Oroville. The original Bidwell Bar Bridge was the first steel suspension bridge in California. The $35,000, original was complete ...

, an original remnant from the area and the first

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

in California (

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 ...

#314). In the early 20th century, the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

completed construction of the all-weather

Feather River Canyon Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier e ...

route through the Sierra Nevada giving it the nickname of "The Feather River Route". Oroville station would serve as an important stop for the ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overal ...

'' during its 20-year run. In 1983, this became a part of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

as their Feather River Canyon Subdivision. A major highway, State Route 70, roughly parallels the railroad line winding through the canyon. The

Chinese Temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or ''di� ...

(CHL No. 770 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

) is another monument to Oroville's storied past. Chinese laborers from the pioneer era established the Temple as a place of worship for followers of Chinese Popular Religion and the three major Chinese religions:

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

. The Chinese Temple and Garden, as it is now called, has an extensive collection of artifacts and a serene garden to enjoy. The olive-canning industry was founded in Oroville by

Freda Ehmann Freda Ehmann (1839-1932) was a farmer who has been credited with launching California's olive industry by perfecting a process to preserve the fruit for shipment. Krissman, Carol. ''Encyclopedia of Women in Business''. Greenwood Publishing, 2005, ...

, the "mother of ripe olives". She built a large cannery in Oroville, and by 1900 was the president of the world's largest canned olive factory. Ehmann was a believer in women's suffrage and a friend of

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to s ...

Ishi Ishi ( – March 25, 1916) was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were kill ...

, Oroville's most famous resident, was the last of the

Yahi The Yana were a group of Native Americans indigenous to Northern California in the central Sierra Nevada, on the western side of the range. Their lands, prior to encroachment by white settlers, bordered the Pit and Feather rivers. They w ...

people and is considered the last "Stone Age" Indian to come out of the wilderness and into Western civilization. When he appeared out of the hills in East Oroville in 1911, he was immediately thrust into the national spotlight. The Visitor's Center at Lake Oroville has a thorough exhibit and documentary film on Ishi and his life in society. Archaeological finds place the northwestern border for the prehistoric

Martis people Martis is the name given by scientists to the group of Native Americans who lived in Northern California on both the eastern and western sides of the Sierra Nevada. The Martis complex lasted from 2000 BCE to 500 CE, during the Middle Archaic era ...

in the Oroville area.

1881 lynching

On August 7, 1881, pioneer Jack Crum was allegedly stomped to death by local bully Tom Noacks in

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

. The young Noacks was feared by the locals of Butte County, not only because of his size and strength, but allegedly because he was mentally unbalanced and enjoyed punching oxen in the head. Noacks was arrested and jailed in the Chico jail. Once word got out that the old pioneer had been murdered, the authorities moved Noacks to the Butte County county jail in Oroville for his safety. Crum's friends, knowing that Noacks was in the county jail, made their way to Oroville with rope in hand. Knocking on the jail door, the men told the jailer that they had a prisoner from the town of

Biggs, California Biggs (formerly, Biggs Station) is a city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 1,707 at the 2010 census, down from 1,793 at the 2000 census. The 2018 population estimate is 1,724. Geography Biggs is located at (39. ...

. Once inside the jail, they overpowered the jailer and dragged Noacks from his cell. They took Noacks to Crum's former farm and hanged him from an old cottonwood tree. Nobody was ever prosecuted for the lynching.

Oroville Dam crisis

On February 7, 2017, after heavy rains, a defect formed in a spillway of

Oroville Dam Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and serv ...

. For the first time since its construction, the secondary spillway was overtopped on February 11. Shortly after being put into service, this structure began to show signs of being undermined, raising fears of catastrophic failure. Owing to their inability to predict the continued safety of this spillway, the Butte County Sheriff ordered evacuations of downstream residents from Butte, Sutter, and Yuba counties.

Camp Fire

In November 2018, Oroville was threatened by the

COVID-19

In November 2021, citing alleged federal and state overreach during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Oroville city council passed a resolution declaring the city as its own "Constitutional Republic" and refused to enforce federal orders that it said violated its citizens' rights. The resolution to declare the town a

constitutional republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

was an attempt to limit state and federal restrictions related to the

COVID-19 pandemic in California Ten of the first twenty confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States occurred in California, the first of which was confirmed on January 26, 2020. All of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China, as testing wa ...

. One rural law expert stated that the designation was unclear and would not operate to shield the city from following state and federal laws.

Geography

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 city has a total area of , of which of it is land and of it (0.16%) is water. Oroville is situated at the head of navigation on the

. The

Yuba River The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba Rive ...

flows into the Feather River near

Marysville, California Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...

and these flow together to the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

. Geologically, Oroville is situated at the meeting place of three provinces: the Central Valley alluvial plain to the west, the crystalline

to the SE and the volcanic

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

to the north. It has a

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 ...

. Oroville sits on the eastern rim of the Great Valley, defined today by the floodplains of the Sacramento River and its tributaries. Around Oroville these sediments are dominated by thick fans of Feather River sediments, but just east of this there is a thin, N–S band of late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

sediments. These sit on top of the Sierran basement, which beneath eastern Oroville comprise

greenschist Greenschists are metamorphic rocks that formed under the lowest temperatures and pressures usually produced by regional metamorphism, typically and 2–10 kilobars (). Greenschists commonly have an abundance of green minerals such as chlorite ...

-facies

metavolcanic Metavolcanic rock is volcanic rock that shows signs of having experienced metamorphism. In other words, the rock was originally produced by a volcano, either as lava or tephra. The rock was then subjected to high pressure, high temperature or both ...

rocks of

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

age, giving way to

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

s of the Sierra

batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate rock types, such ...

to the east. These are manifestations of a vigorous

island arc Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle alon ...

sequence, built out over an east-dipping subduction zone of mid-to-late

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

age. The gold veins lace this ancient arc, remobilized by Mesozoic shearing and intrusions of

igneous rock Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main The three types of rocks, rock types, the others being Sedimentary rock, sedimentary and metamorphic rock, metamorphic. Igneous rock ...

. The crystalline foothills are locally overlain by a

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...

sequence of

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

clean beach sands overlain by

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

volcanics, including the Diamond Head-like profile of "Table Mountain".

Climate

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, Oroville 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 "Csa" on climate maps. According to US climate data, on the average Oroville receives of precipitation per year, which is about 20% less than the national average, but somewhat higher than the average California rainfall total.

Demographics

2010

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 ...

The racial makeup was 11,686 (75.2%)

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 ...

, 453 (2.9%)

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 ...

, 573 (3.7%) Native American, 1,238 (8.0%)

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 ...

, 56 (0.4%)

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 ...

, 554 (3.6%) 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 986 (6.3%) 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 1,945 persons (12.5%). The Census reported that 14,662 people (94.3% of the population) lived in households, 72 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 812 (5.2%) were institutionalized. There were 5,646 households, out of which 2,126 (37.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,893 (33.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,174 (20.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 430 (7.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 615 (10.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 33 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,699 households (30.1%) were made up of individuals, and 718 (12.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60. There were 3,497

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 ...

(61.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.22. The population was spread out, with 4,267 people (27.4%) under the age of 18, 1,969 people (12.7%) aged 18 to 24, 3,940 people (25.3%) aged 25 to 44, 3,417 people (22.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,953 people (12.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males. There were 6,194 housing units at an average density of , of which 5,646 were occupied, of which 2,423 (42.9%) were owner-occupied, and 3,223 (57.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%. 6,293 people (40.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 8,369 people (53.8%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,004 people, 4,881 households, and 2,948 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 5,419 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.2%

, 4.0%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 3.9% Native American, 6.3%

, 0.3%

, 2.8% from

, and 5.4% from two or more races. 8.3% of the population were

of any race. There were 4,881 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.19. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,911, and the median income for a family was $27,666. Males had a median income of $28,587 versus $21,916 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,345. About 16.2% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over. Oroville is home to a considerable number of ethnic

Hmong Hmong may refer to: * Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand * Hmong cuisine * Hmong customs and culture ** Hmong music ** Hmong textile art * Hmong language, a continuum of closely related to ...

. The Hmong migrated from Southeast Asia, especially from the country Laos, after the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. The Hmong were allies of the American forces during the Vietnam War, many were recruited to help fight the Communist-aligned North Vietnamese forces in Laos and Vietnam. The Hmong people were given blanket political asylum after the

fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Saigon, the capital of ...

to the NVA in 1975. Every year there is an annual festival during autumn which was originally a harvest festival but now called the New Year celebration. In 2010, 773 people of Hmong descent lived in the city of Oroville, 726 in South Oroville, 640 in Thermalito, and 140 in Oroville East. In 2010, the Oroville/Chico Hmong community was the 9th largest in the Western US. In the 1950s, a community of Romanians migrated from Europe, with 560 remaining at the time of the 2010 census. Native Americans made up 3.7% of Oroville's population in 2010. The largest tribal group is the local

Maidu The Maidu are a Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather and American rivers. They also reside in Humbug Valley. In Maiduan languages, ''Maidu'' means "man." ...

. The

is headquartered in Oroville, with 306 members. The world's largest museum of Maidu culture is located in Oroville East, at the Lookout Museum.

Economy

The economy of Oroville is largely driven by tourism to Lake Oroville and the Feather River recreation areas. The largest industries in Oroville as of 2017 are: Healthcare and Social Assistance (20%), Retail Trade (11%), and Accommodation and Food Service (10%). As the neighboring city of Chico experiences growth in retail, education, and technology industries, Oroville has experienced population growth associated with commuters attracted to lower property costs, and a smaller cost of living. Recently, Oroville has seen an increase in economic development.

Oroville Hospital Oroville Hospital provides health coverage to the City of Oroville. It is the main hospital for the city of Oroville, California. The building is the City of Oroville in Butte County. It is also a Level III trauma care center. The hospital was ...

announced in 2018 a hospital expansion, and in 2019 received $200 million in bonds for a five-story hospital tower expected to be competed in 2022. Notable retailers who have expanded to Oroville in the past few years include:

Ross Dress For Less Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California. It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of 2018, Ross operates 1,483 sto ...

Marshalls Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

, and

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (, ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. Chipotle operates restaurants in the Unit ...

Top employers

According to the city's 2015–2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Tourism

* The

is the tallest dam in the US and one of the 20 largest dams in the world. This dam is 770 feet (235 m) tall and 6920 feet (2109 m) long, and it impounds Lake Oroville, which has a capacity of of water, making it the second largest reservoir in California. *

is a man-made lake that was formed by the Oroville Dam. At when full, the lake has a surface of for recreation and of shoreline. Lake Oroville features an abundance of camping, picnicking, horseback riding, hiking, sail and power boating, water-skiing, fishing, swimming, boat-in camping, floating campsites, and horse camping. *Lake Oroville Visitor Center is located in Kelly Ridge and overlooks the Oroville Dam and Lake Oroville. The visitor center is home to a museum with interpretive displays, the history of the dam and the State Water Project. A viewing tower allows the visitor the opportunity to have a panoramic view of the lake and surrounding areas. *

Mother Orange Tree The Mother Orange Tree is the oldest living orange tree in Northern California. The California Historical Landmark is located at 400 Glen Drive in Oroville, California. History Originally planted in Bidwell's Bar near the Bidwell Bar Bridge, th ...

, located in Oroville, is the oldest of all Northern California orange trees. * The Feather River Fish Hatchery raise Chinook salmon and steelhead along the Feather River. The annual Oroville Salmon Festival is held on the fourth Saturday of September at both the Hatchery and downtown Oroville. * Riverbend Park is a park on the

established in 2006. The river features boat access and fishing. Other available activies include disc golf, running and walking trails, a river beach, and water fountains to play in on hot days. * Brad Freeman Bike Trail – a bike trail running along the Feather River up to the dam, down through the city then out to the Thermalito Forebay and Afterbay. *

Oroville Chinese Temple The Oroville Chinese Temple (列聖宮) is a Chinese folk religious temple built in 1863 in Oroville, California. The temple is now owned by the City of Oroville and open to the public as a museum, and it also continues to be used occasionally for ...

– built in 1863 by members of the Chinese Popular Religion. The

Oroville Municipal Airport Oroville Municipal Airport is a public airport located 3 miles (5 km) southwest of the city of Oroville in Butte County, California, United States. Facilities Oroville Municipal Airport covers and has two runways: * Runway 02/20: 6, ...

is located south of State Route 162 west of State Route 70.

Parks and recreation

Oroville has several parks featuring playgrounds, picnic tables and benches.

Parks and trails

Parks

* Riverbend Park * Bedrock Park * The C.F. Lott Home in Sank Park – A Victorian revival home built in 1856 by "Judge" Lott. Sank Park, a lush shaded garden with a gazebo, encompasses an entire city block that Judge Lott bought in 1855 for $200 * Hammon Park * Hewitt Park * Rotary Park * Martin Luther King Jr. Park * Playtown USA Park * Gary Nolan Baseball Complex (Mitchell Field) * Nelson Sports Complex * Centennial Park

Trails

* Feather River Bike Trail * Brad Freeman Trail * Dan Beebe Trail * North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve * Kelly Ridge Recreation Area

Education

The

Oroville Union High School District Oroville Union High School District is a public school district in Butte County, California, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily ...

includes all of the greater Oroville area, including many neighborhoods that are not within the city limits of Oroville. The District includes two traditional high schools,

Las Plumas High School Las Plumas High School (LP) is located in the north valley in Oroville, California, United States, about 70 miles north of Sacramento. The school was established in the autumn of 1961. The class of 1965 was the first class to go from freshmen to ...

and

Oroville High School Oroville High School is a public high school located in the rural north valley at the base of the Sierra Nevada foothills, about seventy miles north of Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1892, Oroville High School is the oldest h ...

, and Prospect High School, which functions as a continuation/remedial high school. The city also has an adult school, Oroville Adult School. Several small, rural school districts are in the surrounding areas.

Oroville City Elementary School District

Elementary schools

*Oakdale Heights Elementary *Ophir Elementary *Stanford Avenue Elementary *Wyandotte Avenue Elementary *STREAM Charter School

Middle schools

*Central Middle School *Ishi Hills Middle School

Oroville Union High School District

High schools

*Prospect High School

Higher education

* Oroville Adult School *

California State University, Chico California State University, Chico, or commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Founded in 1887, it is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had ...

(in Chico, northwest of Oroville) *

Butte Community College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico and Orland, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community college ...

Northwest Lineman College Northwest Lineman College, founded in 1993, is a private vocational technical college offering training programs with a concentration on careers in the power delivery industry. The main campus is located in Meridian, Idaho and branch campuses ar ...

Media

Oroville is home to

KOYO-LP KOYO-LP (107.1 FM) is a low-powered community radio station licensed to serve Oroville, California. The station is owned by the African American & Family Cultural Center. It airs a variety format. The studio is located on Bird Street in Oroville ...

, a low-power

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

station owned and operated by the Bird Street Arbor Day Media Project. The station was built by numerous volunteers from Oroville and around the region in April 2002 at the second

Prometheus Radio Project The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group with a mission to resist corporate media consolidation and radio homogenization in the United States.Hill, Ricky. "Prometheus Radio Project (United States)." ''En ...

barnraising. KOYO-LP broadcasts music, news, and public affairs to listeners at 107.1FM.

Infrastructure

Hospital

is a general acute care hospital and offers basic emergency care located in the City of Oroville.

Fire department

The Oroville Fire Department is responsible for calls within the city jurisdiction of approximately with a population of 16,260 (as of 2015).

Superfund sites

Oroville has three designated

superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

cleanup sites, two of which have been cleaned up and delisted: a Koppers Co. wood treatment plant, a Louisiana Pacific sawmill, and the Western Pacific railyard. The Koppers Co. plant was listed on September 21, 1984, for

pentachlorophenol Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is an organochlorine compound used as a pesticide and a disinfectant. First produced in the 1930s, it is marketed under many trade names. It can be found as pure PCP, or as the sodium salt of PCP, the latter of which diss ...

(PCP),

dioxin Dioxin may refer to: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2 *Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...

furan Furan is a heterocyclic organic compound, consisting of a five-membered aromatic ring with four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. Chemical compounds containing such rings are also referred to as furans. Furan is a colorless, flammable, highly ...

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...

(PAH), and heavy metals (copper,

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

, and

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

) contamination due to chemicals spilled on unpaved areas. The

Louisiana-Pacific Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, commonly known as "LP", is an American building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board (OSB) panels. ...

sawmill was listed on June 10, 1986, for

PCP,

, heavy metals (

boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the ''boron group'' it has th ...

, and copper), and

(PAH) contamination. Following remediation, the site was delisted on November 21, 1996. The sawmill was shut down in 2001. The Western Pacific Railroad yard was listed on August 30, 1990, for

volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...

(VOC) and heavy metals (

, lead, and

) contamination. Following remediation, the site was delisted on August 29, 2001.

Notable people

Isaac Austin Isaac Edward "Ike" Austin (born August 18, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several different teams in the National Basketball Association between 1991 and 2002. He is the uncle of former Baylor University b ...

, professional basketball player *

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

, professional baseball player for

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in early 1990s *

, last surviving member of

Native American Tribe *

Hartford H Keifer Hartford Hammond Keifer (24 January 1902 – 20 August 1986) was a world authority on eriophyid mites. Based in California, he initially studied the local microlepidoptera before turning to mites in 1937. Personal life Keifer was born 1902 in O ...

(1902–1986), authority on eriophyid mites * Edward Abraham Kusel, photographer * Doug LaMalfa,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

of California's 1st congressional district * Marilyn Nash, actress and casting director * Gary Nolan (baseball), Gary Nolan, professional baseball player * John Spence (frogman), John Spence, first American combat frogman * Adolphus Frederic St. Sure, federal judge * Kendall Thomas, Nash Professor of Law and a co-founder of the Center for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia Law School * Frank Tuttle (artist), Frank Tuttle, contemporary Native American artist * Robert H. Young, Korean War Medal of Honor recipient * Hubert Zemke, pilot

In popular culture

In the early 1970s, the movie ''The Klansman'' was filmed in Oroville.

Sister cities

* – Salem, Massachusetts (United States) 2007

References

External links

* {{authority control Oroville, California, Cities in Butte County, California County seats in California Incorporated cities and towns in California Superfund sites in California 1906 establishments in California