Biographical profile of John Bidwell, a young Ohioan school teacher who joined the first wagon train to come to California and became one of America's greatest agricultural titans, who's ranch shipped 10 million pounds of grain, fruit and produce to the East and to overseas markets each year. In California Bidwell found opportunities abounding and took advantage of all of them. He found gold before and after Marshall's discovery at Sutter's Mill produced the famous California gold rush. Bidwell's fascinating life coincides with the Bear Flag Revolt and California's admission to the Union. He became a state senator, Congressman, ran for governor, and became the National Prohibition Party's presidential candidate. His vision and determination for California to succeed were matched by his vast landholdings and horde of gold. Famous friends and presidents were guests at his northern California ranch. And he managed to fit the founding of a city, Chico, California, into his otherwise frenetic life. Above all, Bidwell protected the Indians in his region and aggressively opposed the anti-Chinese sentiment flooding through California in the 1870s and afterwards. The Bidwell story in many ways is the story of California's birth as a state and regional powerhouse. [2,768-word Titans of Fortune article]
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