Richardson Springs, California

{{Short description|Unincorporated community in California, United States}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{coord|39|50|24|N|121|46|37|W|display=title}}

{{Infobox settlement

|name = Richardson Springs

|other_name =

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|settlement_type =Unincorporated community

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|pushpin_map =California#USA

|pushpin_label_position =bottom

|pushpin_mapsize =

|pushpin_map_caption =Location in California

|pushpin_image=California Locator Map with US.PNG

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name =United States

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_name1 = California

|subdivision_type2 =County

|subdivision_name2 = Butte County

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|coordinates = {{coord|39|50|24|N|121|46|37|W|region:US-CA|display=inline}}

|elevation_footnotes = {{gnis|1659506}}

|elevation_m =189

|elevation_ft =620

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}}

Richardson Springs (formerly, Mud Springs) is an unincorporated community in Butte County, California. It is located on Mud Creek {{convert|8.5|mi|km}} north-northeast of Chico,{{California's Geographic Names|300}} at an elevation of 620 feet (189 m). The place is named for J.H. and Lee Richardson, who founded mineral spas here in 1898. A post office was opened in 1933.

History

File:Richardson Springs 1915.jpg

The Richardson brothers built a hotel, named the Richardson Springs Hotel, completed in 1903 that boasted a 14-bedroom wooden frame building on their ranch. Their ranch featured an old Native American spring, the mud of which was claimed to be able to heal cuts and skin diseases. One listing in 1913 stated that rooms were between $12–14 per week and the resort was reachable by stagecoach which ran to Chico nearly daily.{{cite book|last1=Drury|first1=Wells|last2=Drury|first2=Aubrey|title=California Tourist Guide and Handbook: Authentic Description of Routes of Travel and Points of Interest in California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQtFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA206|access-date=21 July 2014|year=1913|publisher=Western guidebook Company|page=206}} In 1921, this hotel burned down but was reconstructed and reopened in 1924.{{cite book|last=Moon|first=Debra|title=Chico: Life and Times of a City of Fortune|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MpYR39a2JcAC&pg=PA138|access-date=21 July 2014|year=2003|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738524467|pages=62, 138}}

In 1914–1915, natural gas was discovered near Mud Creek and piped for use at the resort for lighting and heating. Speculation was also made that oil might be nearby as well.{{cite book|title=Pacific Service Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkIZAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA59|year=1915|publisher=Pacific Gas and Electric Company|pages=59–60}}

During the filming of The Adventures of Robin Hood, many of the actors frequented the resort at Richardson Springs. During World War II, soldiers stayed at the hotel; the imposed rationing of gasoline and other goods slowed patronage.

The resort was renovated with modern fixtures and furniture, including a bar, in 1956. However, with business not picking up, the site was sold to Springs of Living Water, Inc., a non-profit Christian organization, in 1968.

The hotel is now owned by YWAM Chico, a non-profit Christian organization.{{cite web |title=Conference Center |url=http://ywamchico.com/conference-center/ |website=YWAM Chico |access-date=7 February 2019}}

Notable people

  • Andranik Ozanian, Armenian national hero, died in Richardson Springs in 1927Genocide memorial built to honor famed General known as the “George Washington of Armenia”, YWAM Chico News

References

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{{Butte County, California }}

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Category:Unincorporated communities in Butte County, California