Apiary
The Diamond Match Company
Barber Yard, Chico
"bees are a brick in the house of life"
William Barker Dickenson
Sadly, the escalation in vandalism took its ultimate toll on the nearly century old structure. The Apiary and Engineering Departments were the two remaining icons of an era in which the Diamond Match Company's impact was realized well beyond regional boundaries.
The Apiary provided a full host of services to the beekeeping industry on the west coast and beyond, reaching as far north as British Columbia, south to Chile and further west to Hawaii. Whether the needs were boxes, frames, feed or honey, the Apiary provided it all.
For a more detailed history on the Apiary, an excerpt from W.H. Hutchinson's "The California Investment of the Diamond Match Company" is available in PDF format.
Formerly the "old" powerhouse at Barber, the structure was converted to the Apiary Department in 1919.
A cornerstone of "Barber Square" and a driving force behind a concept devoted to creating an atmosphere complimentary of these grand statements of an era gone by, the loss will forever change Barber Yard.
Prior to August 2, 2004
Early morning blaze guts historic Diamond Match building