Chico is a medium sized university town in the Sacramento Valley, the northern portion of California'a Central Valley, at an average elevation of 195 feet above sea level. Chico was a lumber town first (home to the Diamond Match Company, along with farming, before becoming a university town, which had its seed planted in 1887 with the establishment of the Northern Branch of the State Normal School of California. Chico was founded in 1860 by General John Bidwell, but wasn't incorporated until 8 January 1872 with a population of about 1,000 people in a 6.6 square miles. Chico currently has a population of about 84,396 people (2000). Chico citizens are composed of 82.4% Caucasians, 12.3% Hispanics, 4.2% Asian, 2% Black, and 1.3% Native American. California State University, Chico, provides bachelor's and master's degrees to a student body of approximately 17,000 students annually.
Bidwell Park runs through the center of the city, and is one of the largest municipally owned parks in the country, at 3,670 acres. Other than the university, County and City governments and schools, Sierra Nevada Brewery is the largest employer in Chico. Chico has grown in the last 20 years, which used to contain many farms and orchards. Crops grown included almonds, rice, cherries, plums, kiwis, walnuts, olives, and peaches, with Almonds are rice still the largest crops today. The median household income for Chico residents is $32,436 and the per capita income is $16,970. 33.6% of the residents over age 25 earned a Bachelor's degree or higher.
Chico was the northern terminus of the Sacramento Northern Railroad, and electified railway. Two highways pass through Chico, State Routes 32 and 99, with 99 serving as the major transportation corridor to and from Chico. The average commute time for working Chico residents is 17 minutes, indicating that a large percentage works a short distance from town. Two creeks flow through the city, Big Chico Creek and Little Chico Creek. Additional information about Chico can be found at Chico Info and at the Official City of Chico site.
I have found 18 different varieties of manhole covers in Chico to date.
