Rancho del Arroyo Chico was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present-day

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 ...

that ultimately laid the foundation for the city of Chico. The name means 'little stream' and refers to

Big Chico Creek Big Chico Creek is a creek in northeastern California that originates near Colby Mountain in Lassen National Park. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10 ...

. The grant was located along the north bank of Big Chico Creek, east of 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 ...

and it encompassed present-day Chico.

History

With

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...

under the control of the Mexican government, Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, then ...

granted Rancho del Arroyo Chico to William Dickey in 1844. Within a decade, ownership of the land transferred hands a number of times and settled in

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 ...

's (1819–1900) possession. Dickey, Bidwell, and George McKinstry, Jr. (1810–1882) had all worked at one time for

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

and were also partners in various mining ventures. McKinstry came to California in 1846, worked for Sutter as clerk and as sheriff of Northern California District, and assisted in the rescue of the

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in th ...

. Dickey, wanting to return to his eastern home, sold Rancho Arroyo Chico to McKinstry in 1849. Within a few years, the rancho ended up under Bidwell's ownership. Eight years after selling the rancho, McKinstry moved to San Diego and practised as a physician there until his death. Bidwell had been in the California scene for several years, having led the Bartleson-Bidwell Party in 1841. He soon found employment as Sutter's business manager, and within a few years he obtained a couple of Mexican land grants, including Rancho Los Ulpinos and

Rancho Colus Rancho Colus was a Mexican land grant in present-day Colusa County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to John Bidwell. The name is derived from the name of a Native American tribe living on the west side of the Sacramento River. Th ...

. In 1848, Bidwell discovered gold in

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 ...

, at a place now call Bidwell's Bar. Bidwell sold Rancho Colus, then acquired Rancho Arroyo Chico in two separate purchases. In 1849, McKinstry sold to Bidwell an undivided half of the rancho. The following year he sold the other half interest to his brother-in-law

Justus McKinstry Justus McKinstry (July 6, 1814 – December 11, 1897) was a United States Army officer who served in the Second Seminole War and with merit in the Mexican–American War and in the Third Seminole War. He was appointed a brigadier general and assi ...

, who sold it over to Bidwell in 1851. With the cession of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the

Land Act of 1851 The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

, a claim for Rancho Arroyo Chico was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to John Bidwell in 1860. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Bidwell founded the city of Chico in 1860, laying out the community on the land of his Rancho Arroyo Chico on the north side of Chico Creek, as well as on part of Rancho Farwell on the south side of Chico Creek.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park. John Bidwell began construction of the mansion in 1865.

References

{{California history California ranchos Ranchos of Butte County, California Chico, California