Chico Museum
Housed in the former Carnegie Library building in downtown Chico, the Chico Museum has hosted more than 90 exhibits celebrating the distinct heritage of Chico since it opened in February 1986. Exhibits change several times a year and include prestigious traveling exhibits as well as those created by the Museum focusing on local Chico and Butte County history.

The Museums Carnegie and Patrick galleries feature changing exhibits focusing on aspects of Chico’s past and present. The McIntyre gallery houses the permanent Chico Timeline 1830 – 2000 filled with photos, portraits, and artifacts evoking Chico’s diverse history. Also in this gallery is the permanent exhibit, “Agricultural History of the North Valley featuring Patrick Ranch”/ This exhibit tells the tale of the valley and its historical impact on agriculture in the region.

The Chico Museum is open April 10th -December 12th, Wednesday through Sunday, 12pm to 4pm.

Patrick Ranch Museum In 2001, Hester Grimm Patrick bequeathed the historic Patrick Ranch, its grand home and the surrounding acreage to the long established and esteemed Chico Museum. The acceptance of this magnificent gift with its unique challenges and its own focus caused the Chico Museum Board to restructure their organization. It was at that time that the Far West Heritage Association was created as the umbrella organization for the Chico Museum and the newly acquired Patrick Ranch.
The Far West Heritage Association is a vital organization that invites all individuals interested in immersing themselves in historical research, doing oral interviews, cataloguing artifacts, working on historic landscaping or volunteering for specific events to join us! Individuals can select the level and frequency of their volunteer hours.
Hester Patrick’s gift of the ranch that she and her husband Garrison loved and treasured presents a unique opportunity for research. It challenges staff, board members and volunteers alike to create a living agriculture museum that will showcase the evolution of agriculture in the Sacramento Valley, of California, indeed of the Far West and the world!