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is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 59,954 at the 2000 census but was estimated to have grown to 86,949 as of 2008. The city is a cultural, economic, and educational center of the northern Sacramento Valley and home to both Chico State University and Bidwell Park, one of the country's 25 largest municipal parks and the 13
Other cities in close proximity to the Chico Metropolitan Area (population 212,000) include Paradise and Oroville, while local towns and villages (unincorporated areas) include Durham, Cohasset, Dayton, Hamilton City, Nord, and Forest Ranch.
The official city nickname is "City of Roses," according to the Seal of the City of Chico, California. Chico has been designated as a Tree City USA for 23 years by the Arbor Day Foundation.
The City of Chico was founded in 1860 by General John Bidwell, a member of one of the first wagon trains to reach California in 1843. The city became incorporated January 8, 1872.
Chico was home to a significant Chinese American community when it was first incorporated, but arsonists burned Chico's Chinatown in February 1886, driving Chinese Americans out of town.
Historian W.H. "Old Hutch" Hutchinson identified five events as the most seminal in Chico history. They included the arrival of John Bidwell in 1850, the arrival of the California and Oregon Railroad in 1870, the establishment of the Northern Branch of the State Normal School in 1887, the purchase of the Sierra Lumber Company by the Diamond Match Company in 1900, and the development of the Army Air Base which is now the Chico Municipal Airport.
Several other significant events have unfolded in Chico more recently. These include: the construction and relocation of Highway 99E through town in the early 1960s; Playboy Magazine naming Chico State the number-one party school in the nation in 1987; and the establishment of a "Green Line" on the western city limits as protection of agricultural lands.