Tag: Bidwell Mansion

Carlson serving time for Bidwell Mansion arson Would a functioning alarm system have saved the building?

photo courtesy of district attorney
Kevin Alexander Carlson

by Leslie Layton
posted April 18

This is the second story in a three-part series on the fire that destroyed Bidwell Mansion and the role the Mansion played in our community. Read the first story here.

The report issued by Butte County Probation in the Bidwell Mansion arson case begins to answer this troubling question: Why did a 30-year-old man with no criminal record set fire to the iconic Victorian?

But though it begins, it doesn’t entirely answer the big “why”: Why Kevin Alexander Carlson shattered a window with a hammer and doused the interior with a gallon of gasoline in a series of maneuvers that began the day before the early Dec. 11 fire. Or how the building became engulfed in flames before Chico Fire Department had a chance to respond.

Carlson is serving an 11-year prison sentence — the maximum possible for his conviction — at North Kern State Prison in connection with the fire that destroyed the 146-year-old former home of John and Annie Bidwell, the couple who are considered Chico’s founders. The medium-custody prison’s website says his earliest possible parole date — which is subject to change — is July 2030. read more

In the fire aftermath, Bidwell Mansion’s future still unclear Long neglected Mechoopda history could play a bigger part in next project

photo by Yucheng Tang
Browning Neddeau in front of the ruins of Bidwell Mansion

by Yucheng Tang
posted April 13

Chico State Associate Professor Browning Neddeau made his first and only visit to Bidwell Mansion, a local landmark from the 1800s associated with the founding of Chico, in 2019.

During the tour, Neddeau and his father, who belong to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, asked their tour guide some hard questions about the Native American experience during the era of John Bidwell — who is known as the founder of the city – but they felt that their questions were ignored.

Neddeau was frustrated with the “settler-centered mindset” reflected in the stories told during a tour of the Mansion, where Bidwell lived with his wife, Annie. He remembers that the only items related to the Mechoopda Tribe, an indigenous people of California who lived in this area long before John Bidwell’s arrival – was a collection of baskets made by tribal members. read more

Chico man suspected of arson in Mansion fire Arraignment scheduled for Jan. 6

Cal State Parks asks that people who have photos or video related to the Mansion fire scan the QR code to submit information to the CAL FIRE Evidence Submission Portal.

by Leslie Layton
posted Jan. 3

A Chico man, Kevin Alexander Carlson, 30, was jailed Jan. 2 in connection with the fire that virtually destroyed the city’s Bidwell Mansion. Carlson faces arraignment on what are likely to be felony arson charges at 3 p.m. Jan. 6.

A California State Parks press release issued today said Carlson was arrested Jan. 2. “CAL FIRE investigators found clear indicators pointing to an intentional act and on Dec. 17, determined the cause to be arson,” the statement says in reference to the Dec. 11 early morning fire.

No other information on Carlson was provided, but the press release notes that Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park remains closed to the public, and the 26-room Mansion, which was completed in 1868, was undergoing renovation. read more