History tv schedule, go to www. Cspan. Org. We continue our look at chicos history. Come inside as we toward the home of the citys founder. Trulyis hard to really grasp how important he was to our states history, our towns history. From founding the town of chico two delivering the news of californias inception to the ntry in october of 1850 his footprint can be seen throughout tornier. Thats throughout california. To 5. 2 acres of the original 22,000. , fivey 12,000 square feet floors and 26 rooms. Mansion was originally constructed from 18 to give 18651868. Being in a mediterranean climate here and being this structure was constructed before airconditioning and electricity , he wanted to cool this house down as quickly and efficiently as possible. Very tall come 14 foot ceilings on the first floor. That was intended to allow the that the walls of the the walls of the Bidwell Mansion act as insulation. The home is also equipped with eight fireplaces prop the mansion to warm the home during the winter months. Throughout the mansion to warm the home during the winter months. Several years down the road, a gold rush in kelvin you come up california,n purchased the land in two separate payments. Originally, if you were inquiring for a plot of land or a ranch blow on chico, this would have been the map you would have seen. Belowe a sketch of rancho chico. Bidwell purchases this land grant in two separate payments totaling just over 11,000. Bidwell is elected to the california state senate. In 1850, he leaves to washington, d. C. To affirm california as part of the United States of america. Bidweller of 1850, traveled to San Francisco and delivers long anticipated news of california becoming part of the United States of america. Roughly 10 years after purchasing rancho below chico, bidwell founds the city of chico. Roughly 18 years after the city is founded, bidwell donates the original eight acres for the school to be founded. Today, it is referred to as chico state, the second oldest csu in the state of company. Dust state of california. We are in the bidwell library. Today, it is home to a vast array of bidwell original items, including bookcases themselves 80 of the literature within the cases, the native american chineses and the tapestry in the corner of the library. The quantity of literature that is seen with in this room is not something that would have been considered typical for the average household at the time. This offers a great insight into the lives and lines of john and annie bidwell. Here, we can see that annie and john were fairly involved in the womens suffrage movement. Susan b anthony and any bidwell were very close friends. She was a guest in the mansion on many occasions. He openly comes out and says i will help women earn the right to vote and i will make alcohol illegal. Arer items of interest pieces of literature on agriculture and natural resources. Bidwell was an experiment for farmer at heart. There he invested in the development of california agriculture. He viewed california as the bread basket that could supply the United States of america with their agricultural needs. Believed the relationship john passes away in 1900. Annie outlives john by 18 years here in the Bidwell Mansion. The living alone within the mansion, annie is a force to be reckoned with. Managing 20,000 acres of land. Due to having never had children on their own come at the time of any step, the remaining small portion of land and the Bidwell Mansion is deeded to the bidwell church. Descendents of friends and items also receive small or handfuls of items in the will of any bidwell. Annie bidwell. I hope visitors leave with a better understanding of the fact that john and any bidwell played a role in not only the development of our town and our towns heritage, but in the development of the state of california and the heritage of the state that we get to enjoy today. Our cities tour staff recently traveled to chico, california to learn about its rich history. Learn more about you go and other stops on our tour on www. Cspan. Org citiestour. Cspan, where history unfolds daily. Cspan was created as a Public Service by americas Cable Television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. Recently, American History tv was at the american historical societys annual meeting in denver, colorado. We spoke with professors come , authors and graduate students about their research. This interview is about 20 minutes. Bill jennifer mittelstadt. What did you mean by your book title . Jennifer i am trained as a scholar of politics. We use the term welfare state to encompal