County Histories

Butte County

“Butte County is situated on the east side of the great Sacramento Valley.  Its boundaries extend from the Sacramento River on the west to the higher altitudes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the east and hence it embodies within its confines every variety of scenery, valley, foothill and mountain.

“The Sacramento River, which forms the county’s western boundary, is California’s largest stream and is navigable by river steamers throughout the year.  Other important streams that traverse Butte are the Feather (and its branches), Butte Creek, Chico Creek and Honcut Creek, all of which rise in the Sierra Nevadas and flow through the county into the Sacramento.  The Feather River is a large stream and drains an area of approximately 4,000 square miles, furnishing numerous sites for power plants and irrigation dams.  Its scenic beauty has made it world famous.

“The products of Butte County are many, in fact, its soil will produce practically every variety of crop that can be grown in California.  The list of products includes cereals of all kinds, hay, deciduous and citrus fruits, nuts, grapes, berries, melons, vegetables, sugar beets, hemp, flax, hops, forest products, gold and other minerals.  The fruits principally grown for market are oranges, olives, figs, peaches, pears, prunes, plums, apricots, apples, cherries and nectarines.  Among other furits (sic) grown are the avacado (sic) or alligator pear, lemons, limes, pomellos, pomegranates, Japanese persimmons and loquats.  Banana and date palms are grown in favored spots for ornamental purposes.  Many nurseries exist for the propagation of these plants.

“Olives have been grown for half a century and it has been fully demonstrated that the tree has found a natural home here.  Climate and soil are particularly adapted to olive culture.  The trees bear heavy crops and are free from tree diseases and insect pests.  Butte County olives are known the world over.  The growth of the industry may be judged by the fact that the value of the olive crop has increased 400 per cent during the past five years.

“Approximately thirty thousand acres in Butte County are devoted to deciduous fruit trees.  All the standard shipping and canning varieties are grown.  Deciduous fruit orchards are found in every part of the county, although the bulk of the fruit, with the exception of the apple yield, is grown on valley and foothill lands.  The mountain sections produce Winter apples of superior size and quality.  The future of the apple industry can hardly be overstated.

“Figs are grown in many parts of the county.  This is a crop that is now attracting much attention.  Since the Calimyrna fig has been introduced, which is a delicious white variety, suited for both fresh and dried sale, fig growing is becoming another important and profitable industry.

“The orange is one of Butte’s most valuable crops, several thousand acres being planted to this delicious citrus fruit.

“Grapes attain early perfection in Butte County.  An almost endless variety of table and wine grapes is grown.  These grapes are marketed in the eastern part of the United States and in Europe.  The first raisins produced in California were dried at a vineyard at Pentz, in this county.

“The almond is yet another important crop.  In some localities, particularly adapted to culture of this nut, growers make large profits.

“The growing of cereals is an important industry in Butte.  Thousands of acres are planted to grain.  During the past few years rice culture has been undertaken on a large scale.  Experiments have proved that certain valley soils are excellent for rice production and the crop is now a means of steady and substantial incomes to hundreds of farmers.  The United States Government maintains a rice experimental station near Biggs, where several hundred varieties of rice are being grown under different conditions to ascertain what variety of the product and what conditions are best adapted to the soil and climate of the Sacramento Valley.

“The United States Government also maintains a large Plant Introduction Garden near Chico, where thousands of varieties of vines and trees are being propagated by government experts for the purpose of improving old and introducing new varieties of fruits, berries, vegetables, cereals, forage plants, etc.

“Fine forests of merchantable timber clothe the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Butte County at altitudes ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 feet.  the principal woods are sugar pine, the finest of soft pines; yellow pine, spruce, fir and cedar.  The larger trees grow to a height of 200 feet or more and attain a diameter of from four to ten feet.  The great mountain forests of Butte are most valuable possessions and are contributing much to the material prosperity of the county.  Properly fostered, they will continue to contribute to prosperity for many generations.  The rapidity which characterizes growth of young trees is assurance of inexhaustible timber wealth in the future.

“Among the forest trees is one of great value.  This is the Abietine, or orange-flavored pine, which is not known to grow in quantity elsewhere.  The Abietine pine contains medicinal properties of great value.  At the headwaters of Butte Creek, fifty miles northeast of Oroville at an altitude of 6,000 feet is a large grove of these rare trees.

“The gold mines of the county have been famous since early days.  The placer mines along the streams yielded big fortunes to the first gold seekers.  To-day mining is still an important industry and the total gold output exceeds $2,000,000 annually.  The mountains are seamed with gold-bearing quartz ledges, and deep mining on scientific methods is followed with success.  The gravel along the river beds contains much fine gold and this has given rise to dredge mining, which is now a big industry.  One of the richest dredging fields in the State is along the Feather River in the vicinity of Oroville.

“Butte County is also the scene of extensive electric power development.  The swift mountain streams afford a wealth of energy, the value of which can hardly be estimated.  Upon these streams electric power is being developed to light cities and to turn the wheels of industrial plants hundreds of miles away.

“Oroville, on the Feather, is the county seat, and Chico, the seat of a State Normal School, the largest city; they are thriving modern cities.  There are many fine schools and churches and the county as a whole is one rich in industries and its people progressive and prosperous.”