The original inhabitants of Chico were the Mechoopda Maidu Native Americans. 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.