Oroville High School

One of the oldest buildings in Oroville is the Oroville High School.  The original building itself was built in 1917.  It was a three-story building.  The cafeteria was located in the basement of the building, and there was a boy’s gymnasium in the middle of the school.  Along with the cafeteria and the gym, there was an auditorium with a theater, and a shop class inside the school too.  Although the buildings were big, the classrooms were small compare to the ones today.  The classrooms measured 20 by 20 feet in dimensions.  All together, the school was estimated to take up more than 50,000 square feet, which average about 16,000 square feet (Longley 49).

Thaij Los Ntawm : Maisoue Y

The building was torn down because of earthquake safety concerns.  OUHSD’s maintenance shop is now the oldest building in the district dating back to 1923, and the oldest building on the school ground is the old girls’ gym in the center of the school, which is now used as a cafeteria.  Right now Oroville High is in the process of getting a new library, and more buildings are being build across the street.  Oroville High School remains to be the city’s oldest school (Longley 49). 

Ishi: A Man Out of Time

Ishi was the last Yahi Indian. An 18-year-old plant employee found him in 1911 behind a slaughterhouse on the corner of Robinson and Huntoon Street in downtown Oroville. He didn't speak any English and no one knew who he was, so the sheriff put him in jail. While in jail, he had many Indian visitors from other tribes, buy they didn't understand each other.

“The sheriff turned him into the University of California Anthropologist, Thomas T. Waterman, who took Ishi to live at his institution’s Anthropology museum in San Francisco on September 4 1911.” Later he was called Ishi, which in Yahi language means, “man” (Lenhoff 30-31)

By 1870, there were only 20 to 30 Indians left in the Yahi tribe. As the tribe dwindled down, it was just Ishi, his mother, sister, and a man in his 30’s. In 1908, the Oro power and light company wanted to build a dam on a stream. They sent out people to survey the land, and they came across the Yahi’s camp. The family fled into the woods where Ishi found himself alone. He was said to wonder for 3 years until he was found in Oroville on 1911. After the sheriff turned him over to Thomas T. Waterman, he spent the first 6 months on display. While on display,he was viewed as “ the last stone age Indian in North America” (Lenhoff 31). Visitors watched him make arrows and build fires. He quickly became a celebrity. During the time that Ishi spent with Thomas T. Waterman, he also met Alfred Kroeber, an anthropologist. They travel in trains, ferries, and streetcars in San Francisco.

While Ishi and the two anthropologists went to a “Wild West Show,” they met a Sioux Indian. The Sioux Indian, after rolling his fingers through Ishi’s hair said, “He is very high grade of Indian” (Lenhoff 31). A building on the corner of Robinson and Huntoon Street in downtown Oroville has a mural of Ishi printed on it (Lenhoff 30-31).

Train Disaster

On the old railroad tunnel north of where Feather River makes a 90-degree turn to the east, there was a main train wreck.  The accident was on October 7, 1965.  During the time of the accident, the dam was being constructed.  The trains were carrying materials to and from the dam.  On that fateful night, engineer George Boates of Stockton, and his oiler Fred Woodlard of Marysville, were traveling back toward Dredger tailing west of town to reload the train after they had empty their train at the dam.  On the other side engineer Joseph Pickney of Paradise and his oiler Paul Callahan of Yuba City were carrying a full load of 40 hopper cars filled with 4,400 tons of rocks for the dam (Bowers 55).

The Chinese Temple

The Chinese Temple was built in the spring of 1863. It was a place for the many Chinese residents to worship. Over 10,000 Chinese people worship in this temple (Temple History). The Chinese Temple is the largest of the authentic temples in California (Chinese Temple). The Chinese emperor helped funded and supplied the furnishings for the temple. The local Chinese labor built the temple (Chinese Temple).

In 1907, a main flood decimated the Chinese community so badly that it caused most of them to move back to China, San Francisco, or Sacramento. The Chan family assumed the responsibility of the Chinese Temple after the flood, and it was deeded to the City of Oroville in 1937. It was first opened to visitors during the time of California’s Centennial in 1949 (Chinese Temple).

Tapestry Hall was added to the old temple in 1968. It was built to display the extensive collection of embroidered tapestries, parade parasols, and other beautiful objects that best characterize the Chinese folk art (Chinese Temple).

Thaij Los Ntawm: Justin S

Tapestry Temple included three chapels. The main chapel was dedicated to the worship of many faiths including Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It also has a magnificent garden with plants that came from China itself. The garden’s main purpose was design for meditation (Chinese Temple).

Khoom Sim :

Longley, Rick. “City’s Oldest High School.”  Oroville Mercury Register Advertising Supplement Mar. 2006: 49.

 “Ishi: Man Out of Time.”  Oroville Mercury Register Advertising Supplement Mar. 2006: 30-31.

Bowers, Bridget. “Oroville Train Disaster.” Oroville Mercury Register Advertising Supplement  Mar. 2006: 54-55.

“Chinese Temple.” Chinese Temple in Oroville, CA. 18 July 2006.  24 July 2006 <http://http://www.superpages.com/‌cities/‌mtg/‌42413/>.

“Temple History.” Temple History: Oroville Chinese Temple. 16 Nov. 2005.  18 July 2006 <http://http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/‌collections/‌oroville/‌history.html>.