Courthouse Monument
Courthouse Monument
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Bidwell Courthouse Monument Dedication of 1918
The honor of unveiling the courthouse monument was bestowed to John Bendle. He is the man standing beside the left side of the monument with his hand reaching out to the United States flag.
The monument shown in this photo was located on the new road leading to the Bidwell’s Bar suspension bridge. The courthouse was located about 120 yards west (behind the monument). A small marker was also placed at the actual site of the courthouse.
Years later Miss Kate Bendle, John Bendle’s daughter who was born at Bidwell in 1855, stated that the roadside monument was placed at about the location where the original road to Bidwell turned to the west and passed in front of the Gluckauf (later Bendle) store, the hotels, and continued to the site of the ferry crossing of the Feather River.
The original courthouse monument, a toll house replica and the reconstructed Bidwell’s Bar bridge are now located in the Kelly Ridge Recreation area about one and one-half miles south-west of their original locations at Bidwell’s Bar.
The photo to the left shows a close up of John Bendle at the dedication ceremony.
A newspaper article dated February 9, 1914, indicated planning was underway to erect a courthouse monument and that John Bendle had selected the location. Bendle was credited as one of the last men who could point out the exact location of the courthouse, the site of general Bidwell’s cabin, the location of Judge Lot’s law office and other building locations.
The roadside courthouse dedication monument is shown in the photo above. The road leading to the Bidwell's Bar Bridge is visible on the right side. The monument at the actual courthouse site was located west ( to the left in this photo) of the roadside monument.
This smaller monument was at the actual site of the Courthouse in the town of Bidwell. It was located about 120 yards west of the roadside monument. Note the ground has been mined after the courthouse was removed from the site.
Photo courtsey Randy TaylorPage updated
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