Add YOUR Family To This Page
History of Chico, California, USA
Journey back in time to Chico, California, USA
Visit Chico, California, USA. Discover its history. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and genealogy.
Are you from Chico? Do you have ancestors from there? Tell us YOUR story!

Chico, Butte, CA
The first recorded Europeans arrived in 1832. That same year, approximately 75% of the Indian population in California died from epidemics of disease brought by the Europeans.
In 1848, General John Bidwell, a member of the first covered wagon trains to California, was among several miners who discovered gold on the Feather River. This event sparked a rush of prospectors into the Butte County area. With his riches, Bidwell bought 28,000 acres in both sides of Chico Creek and opened the first store of the Gold Rush (located on the corner of 1st and Main – now Tres Hombres Restaurant). The city of Chico was founded in 1860 and later incorporated in 1872.
chicochamber.com
There is MUCH more to discover about Chico, California, USA. Read on!
Old Photos, Pictures, Advertisements and Postcards from Chico, California, USA

Chico, California, USA
Postcard

Diamond Match Company's Plant Near Chico, California. (1910)
"The Barber Neighborhood is a working class residential neighborhood in Chico, California, generally south of Little Chico Creek and west of Park avenue. The Barber Neighborhood... Read MORE...
History, News and Stories of Chico, California, USA

-
1860 - Chico is settled
-
January 8, 1872 - Chico is incorporated
-
1895 - Chico
Chico, chee'ko, a post-village of Butte co, Cal., on the Oregon division of the Central Pacific Railroad, 96 miles N. of Sacramento, and on Chico... Read MORE...
1908 - THEATER BURNS.
Chico, Cal., March 24. - The Star theater here was gutted by fire this morning. The blaze started by a moving picture machine. Several stores in the... Read MORE...
-
1916
Chico, chee'ko, a banking city of Butte co., Cal., on the Southern Pacific R., 96 miles N. of Sacramento. It has fruit and canning industries,... Read MORE...
1927 - CHICO COLLEGE BUILDING RAZED. EFFORTS OF FIREMEN TO CHECK FLAMES PROVE UNAVAILING; LOSS $500,000.
Chico, Cal., Aug. 12. - (AP) - The main building of the State Teachers College of Chico was destroyed tonight by fire said to have started with an... Read MORE...
-
1953 - August 29 - KHSL TV channel 12 in Chico, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
historyorb.com
-
It is illegal to build, maintain, or use a nuclear weapon within Chico, California city limits.
A law that began in the '80s as a serious anti-nuke statement has taken on a second life as an Internet joke, mainly due to the purported... Read MORE...
Chico, California, USA Genealogy
Ancestors Who Were Born or Died in Chico, California, USA
We currently have information about ancestors who were born or died in Chico.View Them Now (sorted by year of birth)
Ancestors Who Were Married in Chico, California, USA
We currently have information about ancestors who were married in Chico.View Them Now
Not the place you are looking for? Try again!


Search for Your Family by Place
Updated: 3/28/2021 11:25:18 AM
Are you from Chico? Do you have ancestors from there? Tell us YOUR story!
If you'd like to be contacted by others who have ancestors from Chico, leave a message here!The comments you read here belong only to the person who posted them. We reserve the right to remove off-topic and inappropriate comments.