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The Donner Party

Daniel M. Rosen

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Donner Party, I created a daily diary of the Donner Party's journey. The daily information includes diary entries and quotes from original sources and histories. Now that the anniversary is over, I will keep the diary on the web for your research, education and enjoyment.

The Donner Party was the most famous tragedy in the history of the westward migration. Almost ninety wagon train emigrants were unable to cross the Sierra Nevada before winter, and almost one-half starved to death. Perhaps because they were ordinary people -- farmers, merchants, parents, children -- their story captures the imagination. The logs on this site contain the words of the participants from their diaries, letters and first-hand accounts, balanced by the perspective of later historians. The logs describe the locations of their trail and camps in detail so you can follow in the Donner Party's wagon tracks and footsteps.

One hundred and sixty-one years ago this month, the emigrants of 1846 crossed the prairies along the Blue River and then made a dry drive to the north, to the great highway of the plains the Platte River. When they reached the south bank of the Platte, they turned to the west and followed along the south bank until they reached a suitable crossing, such as the one shown. James Reed established his reputation as a hunter by bringing an elk carcass back to the emigrants, followed a few days later by several buffalo calves. Col. Russell resigned as captain of the large wagon party, as did his subordinates including George Donner. Further back on the Trail, the Graves family, traveling with the Smith Party, encountered some Pawnee's who killed a member of their party.

The emigrants made another dry drive from the South Fork to the North Fork of the Platte, arriving at the beautiful Ash Hollow, shown in photograph with reconstructed wagon.

As the emigrants followed the North Fork of the Platte, they encountered the bluffs along the south bank with the memorable rock formations, such as Chimney Rock, below. By the end of the month, the emigrants had reached Fort Laramie, and here the Reeds and Donners heard their first warning about the Hastings Cut-off. James Clyman, who knew Reed from the Sauk war, was heading east from California. Clyman had traveled with a pack train that crossed the Sierra in the Spring, and then taken the new route around the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. Lansford Hastings was also with that pack train. Clyman told Reed that the new route was not a good road, and advised Reed to take the Fort Hall road. But Reed said he wanted to go the nigher route.

Read the Donner Party logs:

View maps of the Donner Party's route (the Hastings Cut-off), the camps at Alder Creek and Donner Lake, and the route of the Snowshoe Party.

Read what happened to the members of the Donner Party, those who survived, and those who didn't.

Read about the salvage operations, and the remains of the Alder Creek campsites and the Lake Cabins.

Read reports from other Donner Party buffs who visited historic sites and made new discoveries, or re-discovered a bit of history.

Condolences

People often ask what the Donner Party can teach us. Sadly, we had another example of what can happen to ordinary people who take a route they don't know. On November 25, 2006 James Kim, his wife and two young daughters, age 4 years and 7 months, were headed from Portland to a resort on the Oregon coast. They missed the turnoff for the state highway, but saw on their map another road that led to the coast. Unfortunately, that road is closed in winter and an early storm had already snowed the road in. The car became stuck and the family stayed in the car for over a week hoping to be rescued. They ran the car's engine for heat until they ran out of gas, and then burned the tires. They had only a few jars of baby food. When no help arrived, Mr. Kim attempted to hike out. A few days later searchers in a helicopter found the car. Mrs. Kim and the daughters were safe. Two days later searchers found Mr. Kim's body. My deepest sympathies go out to the Kim and Fleming families for their loss. You can read the story on Yahoo! News by Associated Press, The families maintained a website during the search.

What's New

Author and photographer Mark McLaughlin received the Northern California Publishers and Authors award for Best Nonfiction Book of 2006, for his new book The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm. a history of the Donner Party enhanced with research into the weather conditions. The Donner history is well written and includes numerous quotations from primary sources, especially concerning the weather. Among other topics, Mark addresses the evidence that the winter of 1846-47 was unusually wet, and the evidence that the snow depth at Donner Lake was 22 feet. He supplements the history with recent archaeology including the excavations at Alder Creek. The book is available from Mark's website. The website also includes climate data, snowfall and snowpack measurements from 1879, a collection of weather stories and other interesting information.

"The Donner Party," Ric Burns' 1992 documentary for the PBS series The American Experience, is now available on DVD, and for only $19.98, from Shop PBS. This is an excellent documentary that tells the story of the Donner Party using traditional sources and the then-new research of Prof. Joseph A. King. With readings from primary sources, and footage of scenes from the Trail and the cabins, this is an easy way to learn a lot about the Donner Party in 90 minutes of enjoyable viewing For other Ric Burns films, including The Way West, about the conflict between the Native Americans and the European, visit Steeplechase Films.

Thanks to the efforts of the Historic Donner Trail Committee a portion of the California Trail from Donner Lake to the Summit won't be abandoned as a public road. This section of the Trail saw less use after the discovery of Roller Pass in 1846, but it became the main route with the construction of the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road in 1852, and later the Lincoln Highway. It decayed after the construction of US Highway 40 and became a "Jeep" trail until a landowner blocked it. A group of citizens has been fighting to preserve the old trail, and has stopped an attempt by Nevada County to abandon the road. The fight isn't over so visit the Historic Donner Trail Committee website to see how you can help.

Frankye Craig, Donner Party buff and author of the soon to be released book, "The Fateful Journey of Tamsen Donner" hosted a very successful Donner Party cross-country bus tour and symposium in October, 2006. The guided bus tour went from Independence, Missouri to Donner Lake The guides were Trail historian Ross Marshall and Donner Party historian Frank Mullen author of the Donner Party Chronicles. The commemoration and symposium was held at Boomtown Hotel near Reno, Nevada, and included a dinner with Frank Mullen Jr. as a story-teller. The commemoration included a bus tour of the trail from Verdi through the encampments and the summit. Thanks to symposium and tour organizer Frankye Craig, E-Mail: FrankyeEBD@aol.com, Phone: +1 (775) 747-1139

The Meadow Brook Theater presented "Devour the Snow", described as "a riveting courtroom drama drawn from the harrowing saga of the ill-fated Donner Party and encompasses the struggles of man vs. nature and man vs. man. One of the earliest recorded slander trials in American history this factual account follows Lewis Keseberg, a German emigrant and survivor of the tragic Donner Party expedition, and his suit for slander against several other survivors, who have accused him of being a grave robber and murderer. Directed by David Regal this production features award winning MBT actor Dennis E. North (Art, Of Mice and Men)." Actually Keseburg did not sue other survivors, he sued Ned Coffeemeyer of the Fourth Relief. The Meadow Brook Theater is on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. The performances ran from March 15 to April 9, 2006.

Cathy Ward and Eric Wright mounted an exhibition entitled "Destiny Manifest - Eden's End" at Cafe Gallery Projects London, The Gallery by the Lake, Southwark Park, London SE 16 2UA from 13th July to 7th August 2005. Destiny Manifest is a body of work inspired by a 7500 mile journey that traced the wagon roads of pioneer America. This journey was precipitated by a long-standing interest in the tragic Donner Party story. The exhibit comprised a 10ft by 40ft panoramic painting, sculptures, video projections and photographs. Visit the exhibition website for more information.

You'd have to be pretty brave to write a Donner Party Cookbook, and Terry Del Bene, Ph.D. is. His book combines a history of the Donner Party with recipes for meals similar to those prepared by wagon train emigrants. Mr. Del Bene is an anthropologist who has participated in archaeological digs and living history demonstrations of life on the Oregon-California Trail. So he knows what it takes to survive for five months on the Trail. He also knows what it takes to sell books, so in the proud tradition of previous Donner Party books he plays on the lurid aspects of the story. He includes sample invitations to a "Donner Party ... Lose Weight and Party All at the Same Time!" But other than the gory cover art and a few shocking statements such as "None of the members had any recipes for human flesh before starting their journey," the book is a solid history of the Donner Party and a solid cookbook of trail food. Recipes range from home style favorites such as corn bread and mince meat to camp-out specials such as antelope pudding and elk roast. The recipes use modern ingredients and methods, although Mr. Del Bene details how food was prepared in the 19th Century. Mr. Del Bene puts his own spin on history, such as calling Stanton's return and Reed and McCutcheon's attempted return "Relief Expeditions" when that title is usually associated with the parties that reached the survivors in the Spring, which Del Bene calls "Rescue Parties." But other than a few minor points, this is a well-researched history with endnotes to explain the more subtle points, even though Del Bene says in the preface that he "tried to refrain from the cumbersome system of footnoting." Available from the publisher Horse Creek Publications and from bookstores near you, including Amazon.com.

The Discovery Channel showed an episode about the Donner Party on its Unsolved History series. The Discovery Channel sponsored a dig at the Donner family campsites along Alder Creek, led by Oregon state archaeologist Julie Schabilitsky. The dig uncovered fire-cracked rocks, bone fragments and various artifacts. The bones exhibit evidence of butchering and are being analyzed at the University of Oregon to determine if they are human remains. You can buy the show on DVD or VHS.

Michael Bitterman and T.G. Harper have written a musical Forlorn Hope: A Donner Party Musical, based on the writings of Virginia Reed and focuses on the Reed family. The play follows the Reeds from their hopeful sendoff in Springfield, Illinois, through their troubles on the Trail and entrapment at the Lake, to James Reed's rescue of his family. Michael Bitterman is a veteran Broadway composer.

Disney's "One More Mountain" is no longer available from Disney. This made-for-TV movie tells the story from Margaret Reed's viewpoint, and emphasizes her struggle to keep her family alive. Starring Meredith Baxter. When it was available, Disney charged $99 a copy.

Trails West Inc., is a non-profit corporation formed by volunteers dedicated to preserving trail markers on the California Trail through Nevada. Starting June 23, 2000 Trails West volunteers revised some signs, and relocated others, to reflect new research about the trail from the Humboldt Sink to Truckee. This created a controversy, as reported by Frank Mullen, Jr. in the Reno Gazette-Journal of June 10, 2000. You can also judge for yourself by examining maps and reading diaries describing the Truckee Meadows.

The preservation of the Emigrant Trail is an ongoing battle. The County of Washoe, Nevada considered a request by A&K Earthmovers to build a new gravel pit in the southeast Truckee Meadows area. The proposed plans include leveling a 200-foot knoll covering 68 acres that overlook the Emigrant Trail. According to retired high school teacher and trail historian Fred Horlacher, the gravel pit won't disturb the Trail, but it will be an eyesore. Read the complete story in the Reno Gazette-Journal of October 11, 1999,

Marian Calabra has written The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party, a highly regarded book for readers aged 9 to 12. Ms. Calabra tells the story from Virginia Reed's point of view, supplemented by other sources and historical details. The book has been critically praised for its sensitive handling of the issue of cannibalism, allowing young readers to understand the hard choices faced by the Donner Party. Includes a complete transcript of Virginia Reed's 1847 letter. My then 9 year old daughter read the book to prepare for her trip to Sutter's Fort, where she portrayed Virginia Reed. My daughter enjoyed the book almost as much as I did. Published by Clarion Books. Available at Amazon.com.

The 3rd edition of Winter of Entrapment by Joseph A. King has been published posthumously. The late Prof. King offered a new perspective on the Donner Party, and explored the biases in the previous histories. The older editions are carried at most of the historical sites and visitor centers in "Donner County". The new edition is also available from the publisher: K&K Publication, P.O. Box 564, Lafayatte, CA 94549, phone and fax: 925-228-9205. The price is $13.95 plus $3 shipping plus 8.25% for California residents. Shipping multiple copies are $0.50 extra each. Discounts are available for retailers. Also available at Amazon.com

The Emigrant Trail Museum at Donner Memorial State Park, Donner Pass Road, 2 miles west of Truckee, contains displays about the emigrant trail over the Sierra, including artifacts from the Donner Party. Artifacts include William Foster's rifle, right, Tamsen Donner's china, and wagon parts excavated from the Salt Desert. The bookstore sells many of the histories of the Donner Party. The rangers lead regular Donner Party History hikes at least twice and some-times three times a week which start at 10:00 am in front of the museum. They are free to the public. For information and reservations for trips, call (530) 582-7892.

The Oregon-California Trails Association conducts numerous events to preserve the emigrant trail. Local chapters include Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, California/Nevada, and the Northwest.

Donner Party Descendants

The survivors of the Donner Party settled throughout California, and some became quite famous. As it happens, I used to live in Elk Grove, California, the final resting place of Elitha Cumi Donner Wilder, daughter of George and Mary Blue Donner. John Jameson, a descendant of Elitha Donner, has opened a Web page and is interested in keeping track of other Elitha Donner descendants.

If you are searching for genealogical information about your family, the US Gen Web Project is an excellent source.

Sources

On January 16, 1847, The California Star, Yerba Buena, reported a "most distressing situation" for "a party of emigrants." Ever since then, there has been no shortage of printed material about the Donner Party. The challenge has been to find accurate accounts. Often, the contemporary sources have not been the most reliable, such as the newspaper reports of the Relief parties and the first book published about the Donner Party. There have been almost as many fictional accounts as histories. The best selling "history" is actually told as a "dramatized" story. I have tried to rely on first-person accounts and well-researched histories, as listed in my bibliography of Donner sources.

Links to Other Donner Party Websites

Visit other websites for more information on the Donner Party, and related history websites.

Send a Message

I am very much an amateur historian. You are welcome to assist in this effort. If you have any corrections, information, pictures, maps or other Donner memorabilia to share, let me know. If you want to send me a message about the Donner Party, or any other topic...E-mail me.

visitors since January, 2006

Thank you everyone