The discovery of gold in California in the 1840's caused a massive influx of settlers. Pioneers headed out from across the United States to the west in search of fortune. One group of pioneers that came was the Donner Party, organized by brothers George and Jacob Donner. They set off from Springfield, Illinois in the spring of 1846 and headed west to California.
The Party infamously decided to take their wagon train up over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California, up the Truckee River and over what became known as Donner Pass. They arrived in the Truckee, California area in late October 1846 and continued westward in search of fortune. One group of pioneers that came was the Donner Party, organized by brothers George and Jacob Donner. They set off from Springfield, Illinois in 1846 and headed west. They decided to take their wagon train up over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, up the Truckee River and over what became known as Donner Pass. They arrived in the Truckee area in late October 1846 and headed west to Sutter's Fort, on the west side of the Sierras. Winter storms had already arrived to the area but despite the snow, they pressed westward. Due to the conditions, the Party could not scale the Sierras and returned eastward to a large lake, now known as Donner Lake, about eight miles east of Donner Pass. There they set up camp there in a nasty storm.
At that time, there were no provisions that could be had in Truckee. The emigrants slaughtered their remaining oxen for food, but there was not enough meat to go around. Soon the party ran out of food and starvation set in. In mid December 1848, a group of fifteen from the Party headed west determined to reach Sutter's Fort. The group consisted of ten men and five women. The group was caught without shelter in a raging blizzard and four members of the party died. The surviving members resorted to cannibalism, then continued on their journey. The remaining members, two men and all five women, finally reached Sutter's Fort in mid January 1847.
Back at Donner Lake, the remaining members of the Party maintained their camps. Due to starvation, many in the party died, including children. News of the severity of the situation got out and Californians launched rescue parties to try to save the remaining members. When the first rescue party arrived, fourteen emigrants had already died at the camps and the rest were extremely weak. Twenty-one members of the Party set out with the relief party in late February 1847.
One week later, a second rescue group arrived. While there had been no more deaths, some of the thirty-one emigrants left behind had begun to eat the dead. The second rescue group was able to take fourteen members of the Party with them to safety, leaving nine behind. A third relief group arrived later in March, rescuing four children but having to leave five people behind. When the fourth and final rescue group reached the lake in mid-April, only one man had survived. In total, over forty members of the Donner Party perished in the winter of 1846-1847, including numerous children.
Today, Donner Memorial State Park on the south side Donner Lake commemorates the Donner Party telling the history of the massive loss of life and human suffering. The Pioneer Monument near the Emigrant Trail Museum in the State Park depicts the Donner Party's Murphy family cabin site allowing visitors to see how members of the Party lived, many in their final days. The motion picture "The Donner Party" depicting the tale of these early western settlers is being released in December 2009.
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