Fire guts Bidwell Mansion, a Chico landmark and jewel of California history. Can it be saved?

A historic Victorian home in Chico that has been a Northern California landmark for more than 150 years was gutted by an early morning fire.

Bidwell Mansion caught fire just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, fire officials told Chico-area news outlets. Chico Fire Department Assistant Chief Chris Zinko told KHSL-TV’s Action News Now that flames were reported as an illegal warming fire and that authorities were searching for a person seen leaving the state historic park around the same time.

Shock and sadness followed in the wake of the fire that destroyed the Chico landmark; the grief perhaps most palpable at Chico State.

Bidwell Mansion, the centerpiece of the state historic park, had survived more than a century as a memorial to California pioneers John and Annie Bidwell, who donated eight acres of their cherry orchard to a school that would become California State University, Chico. The mansion at 525 Esplanade sits just east of the campus a few blocks from Bidwell Park, the crown jewel of the north state’s regional parks, and a gateway to the university their gift helped create.

“We are devastated to wake up to the heartbreaking news that Bidwell Mansion, the historic building adjacent to our campus, was destroyed in an overnight fire,” Chico State President Steve Perez wrote in a letter to students. “The historic home of John and Annie Bidwell has been significant to Chico State since our founding. Its loss is deeply felt by all of us, and we join the Chico community in mourning the loss of this historic home.”

The mansion once housed students at what was then Chico State Teachers College; and was later home to classes and staff as the university’s Bidwell Hall.

Chico State officials said the blaze no longer posed a threat to students or the campus. The university and most classes and activities will continue as scheduled. The Gateway Science Museum, Modoc Hall and Aymer J. Hamilton academic affairs space; and the campus’ Child Development Lab closed Wednesday.

Fire officials told KRCR-TV it was unclear if the illegal burn started the blaze at the 12,000-square-foot, three-story structure — closed for renovations since spring. That project was set to be completed early next year, according to California State Parks officials.

When firefighters arrived, according to KRCR, five fire engines found flames engulfing the building, which had been surrounded by scaffolding for the repairs.

Photos and video from KRCR showed the devastation as flames and smoke poured from the building, parts of which had collapsed. Witnesses said the fire may have destroyed the mansion, though firefighters told KRCR that the flames had not spread to vegetation around the home.

The renovation included the restoration of “all exterior wood components” including the building’s eaves and second-floor balustrade railings as well as a replacement of the roof and repairs to the home’s distinctive pink plaster siding.

State officials said that park staff had moved historical objects “out of work zones” during the renovation work, but it was unclear if the artifacts had been stored at another location. During a previous renovation more than a decade ago, many of the artifacts — several of which were original to the home, like a grand piano — had been stored for a time in Sacramento for safekeeping.

The historic pink-hued Victorian on Chico’s Esplanade was mourned as family by a city and region that could scarcely believe its eyes Wednesday.

“The heart and icon of Chico!” Marc Lucero posted to Facebook above a photo of the doomed mansion aglow with flame.

Shelly Davis-Whitfield said simply: “A sad day for our city.”

John Bidwell had led one of the first wagon trains to California and founded the town, naming streets after trees that spell the town’s name — Chestnut, Hazel, Ivy, Cherry and Orange. He solidified his name as a soldier, farmer, statesman, politician and ultimately a philanthropist. His wealth grew in large measure to the discovery of gold in the Feather River region, enabling him to buy more than 30,000 acres of land by 1850.

The Bidwells’ brick-clad, 26-room home was designed by architect Henry W. Cleaveland and reflected the Italianate estates popular in the mid-1800s. It cost around $60,000 at the time of its completion in 1868. The exterior is finished with pink-tinted plaster.

The home had entertained many socially and politically prominent officials of the day, according to the state parks, including President Rutherford B. Hayes, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Susan B. Anthony, Frances Willard, Gov. Leland Stanford, John Muir and Asa Gray.

This is the second destructive blaze Chico has endured this year with ties to its history. A devastating fire sparked several miles northeast of the mansion in Upper Bidwell Park and led to the Park Fire, a massive blaze that became the fourth-largest in the state. After sparking from a car that was pushed into ravine in the park July 24, the arson fire burned more than 429,000 acres across Butte and Tehama counties before full containment was reached more than two months later. The blaze leveled more than 700 structures but no injuries were reported.

Ronnie Dean Stout II was arrested and charged with starting the blaze after his mother’s car caught fire near Alligator Hole. Prosecutors say Stout, who witnesses said had been acting “strange,” pushed the car down the 60-foot gully, watched the blaze and then ambled away. He was arrested 12 hours later at a mobile home park in Chico and faces trial as early as next month.

This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 7:22 AM.