Location
Bidwell Bar is in southeastern Butte County about 10 miles northeast of Oroville and west of the junction of the South and Middle Forks of the Feather River. The district includes the HurIeton, Stringtown and Enterprise areas to the east.
History
Gold was discovered here in 1848 by General John Bidwell, soon after Marshall's discovery at Coloma. News of this rich find spread, and there was a general rush to the Feather River region. Bidwell Bar, Long's Bar, Thompson Flat, Potter's Bar, Adamstown, and other settlements were soon established. All of these towns have long since disappeared, as the gravels were exhausted in a few years and the miners moved elsewhere. The old suspension bridge and a few remaining buildings later became a state park. Much of the area was inundated by Oroville Lake.
Geology
The district is underlain by amphibolite in the west and granite in the east. Most of the gold was obtained from Recent and Pleistocene gravels in and adjacent to the river. There are a few narrow gold-quartz veins.
Bibliography
Turner, H. W., 1898, Bidwell Bar folio: U. S. Geol. Survey Geol. Atlas of the U.S., folio 43, 6 pp.
