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Bidwell

Ghost town · Butte County, California

Bidwell Bar quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1947, 1:24,000)
Bidwell Bar quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1947, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bidwell is a ghost town in Butte County, California. It is one of 37 former communities in Butte County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 3rd among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bidwell as a historical populated place on the Oroville Dam topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.5568° N, 121.4655° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleOroville Dam
Elevation673 ft
Nearest living townKelly Ridge, CA
Distance to it1.9 miles
GNIS feature ID1666764
Coordinates39.55683, -121.46552

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bidwell is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Kelly Ridge, CA (population 3,010), about 1.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 673 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bidwell?

Bidwell is in Butte County, California, at 39.5568, -121.4655.

How many ghost towns are in Butte County?

Butte County, California has 37 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.