The Donner Party Memorial at Donner Memorial State Park.

The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American settlers caught up in the "westering fever" of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, some of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism. Although this aspect of the tragedy has become synonymous with the Donner Party in the popular imagination, it was actually a minor part of the episode.^[1] . Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1995x2992, 1393 KB) Summary A memorial to the Donner Party at Donner Memorial State Park. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1995x2992, 1393 KB) Summary A memorial to the Donner Party at Donner Memorial State Park. ... The Donner Party Memorial at Donner Memorial State Park. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... // First use of general anesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long The first electrical telegraph sent by Samuel Morse on May 24, 1844 from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi, Northland New Zealand. ... This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... For other uses, see Winter (disambiguation). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Cannibal redirects here. ...

History

For more details on this topic, see Donner Party timeline.

The nucleus of the party consisted of the families of George Donner, his brother Jacob Donner, and James F. Reed of Springfield, Illinois, plus their hired hands, about 33 people in all. They set out for California in mid-April 1846, arrived at Independence, Missouri, on May 10, 1846, and left two days later. Donner Party timeline provides an almost day-to-day basic description of events directly associated with the Donner Party, covering the Partys journey from Illinois to California—2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers), over the Great Plains, two mountain ranges, and the deserts of the Great Basin. ... George Donner II (March 7, 1784 – March 1847) was the leader of the Donner party. ... : Home of President Abraham Lincoln United States Illinois Sangamon 60. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

On May 19, 1846, the Donners and Reeds joined a large wagon train captained by William H. Russell. Most of those who became members of the Donner Party were also in this group. For the next two months the travelers followed the California Trail until they reached the Little Sandy River, in what is now Wyoming, where they camped alongside several other overland parties. There, those emigrants who had decided to take a new route ("Hastings Cutoff", named after its promoter, Lansford Hastings), formed a new wagon train. They elected George Donner their captain, creating the Donner Party, on July 19.^[2] At its height it numbered 87 people.^[3] Wagon Train was a television series on NBC from 1957 to 1962 and on ABC from 1962 to 1965. ... Main route of California Trail (thick red line), including Applegate-Lassen and Beckwourth variations (thinner red lines) The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the Western United States from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... Official language(s) English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Area  Ranked 10th  - Total 97,818 sq mi (253,348 km²)  - Width 280 miles (450 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 0. ... Route of the California Trail and Hastings Cutoff in the western United States The Hastings Cutoff was an alternate route for emigrants to travel to California, as proposed by Lansford Hastings. ... Lansford Hastings Lansford Warren Hastings (circa 1819 – 1870) is best remembered as the developer of Hastings Cutoff, a shortcut across what is now the state of Utah which was a factor in the Donner Party disaster of 1846. ... George Donner II (March 7, 1784 – March 1847) was the leader of the Donner party. ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Donner Party continued westward to Fort Bridger, where Hastings Cutoff began, and set out on the new route on August 31. They endured great hardships while crossing the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert, finally rejoining the California Trail near modern Elko, Nevada, on September 26. The "shortcut" had taken them three weeks longer than the customary route. They met further setbacks and delays while traveling along Nevada's Humboldt River.^[2] Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 near present-day Evanston, Wyoming in the western United States. ... Route of the California Trail and Hastings Cutoff in the western United States The Hastings Cutoff was an alternate route for emigrants to travel to California, as proposed by Lansford Hastings. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Wasatch Range (also seen as Wasatch Mountains and Wahsatch Range) is a mountain range that stretches from southern Idaho and Wyoming south through central Utah in the Western United States. ... The Great Salt Lake Desert is a large playa in northern Utah, located west of the Great Salt Lake. ... Main route of California Trail (thick red line), including Applegate-Lassen and Beckwourth variations (thinner red lines) The California Trail was a major overland emigrant route across the Western United States from Missouri to California in the middle 19th century. ... Elko, Nevada Elko is a city in Elko County, Nevada, United States. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Nevada. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Humboldt River runs through northern Nevada in the western United States. ...

When they reached the Sierra Nevada at the end of October, a snowstorm blocked their way over what is now known as Donner Pass. Demoralized and low on supplies, about two thirds of the emigrants camped at a lake (now called Donner Lake), while the Donner families and a few others camped about six miles (ten kilometers) away, at Alder Creek.^[2] This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... A winter storm is a storm where the dominant forms of precipitation are forms that occur only at cold temperatures, such as snow or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are cold enough to allow ice to form. ... Donner Pass (el. ... Donner Lake is a freshwater lake quite smaller than nearby Lake Tahoe. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ...

The emigrants slaughtered their remaining oxen, but there was not enough meat to feed so many for long. In mid-December, fifteen of the trapped emigrants, later known as the Forlorn Hope, set out on crudely fashioned snowshoes for Sutter's Fort, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, to seek help. This group consisted of 10 men and five women. When one man gave out and had to be left behind, the others continued, but soon became lost and ran out of food. Caught without shelter in a raging blizzard, four of the party died. The survivors resorted to cannibalism, then continued on their journey; three more died and were also cannibalized. Close to death, the seven surviving snowshoers—two men and all five of the women—finally reached safety on the western side of the mountains on January 18, 1847.^[2] Forlorn hope is a military term that comes from the Dutch verloren hoop, which should be translated as lost troop although in Dutch it can also mean lost hope. The Dutch phrase fortutiously sounding like a accurate statement of the units future in English. ... 19th century illustration of Sutters Fort Started in 1839, Sutters Fort, which was originally called New Helvetia[1] (New Switzerland) by its builder, John Sutter, was a 19th century agricultural and trading colony in California. ... This article is about the winter storm condition. ... is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Donner Pass in the 1870s.

Californians rallied to save the Donner Party and equipped a total of four rescue parties, or "reliefs". When the First Relief arrived, 14 emigrants had died at the camps and the rest were extremely weak. Most had been surviving on boiled ox hide, but there had been no cannibalism. The First Relief set out with 21 refugees on February 22. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1400x995, 1064 KB)Donner Lake Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1400x995, 1064 KB)Donner Lake Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. ... Donner Pass (el. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

When the Second Relief arrived a week later, they found that some of the 31 emigrants left behind at the camps had begun to eat the dead. The Second Relief took 17 emigrants with them, the Third Relief four. By the time the Fourth Relief had reached the camp, only one man was alive. The last member of the Donner Party arrived at Sutter's Fort on April 29.^[2] is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Of the original 87 pioneers, 39 died and 48 survived.^[3]

Legacy

• Donner Memorial State Park, bear the eastern shore of Donner Lake, commemorates the disaster; the area where the Donner families camped at Alder Creek has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
• Several places in western states take their names from the Donner Party: Donner Hill, Donner-Reed Pass, and Donner Spring in Utah; Donner Springs in Nevada; and Donner Lake, Pass, Peak, and Summit in California.
• The road created by the Donner Party into the Salt Lake Valley via Emigration Canyon was used the following year by the vanguard company of Mormon pioneers. The section from Fort Bridger to the valley became part of the Mormon Trail and remained the main route to Salt Lake City into the 1860s.
• The memory of the Donner disaster prompted Californians to fund relief teams during the gold rush years. They sent men eastward along the trails to take food and water to overland emigrants, saving many lives.^[4]

The Donner Party Memorial at Donner Memorial State Park. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Salt Lake Valley from space. ... A statue commemorating the Mormon pioneers The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of... The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 miles (2,092 km) route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846-1857. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Korns, J. Roderic and Dale L. Morgan, West from Fort Bridger: the pioneering of the Immigrant Trails across Utah, 1846-1850; revised and updated by Will Bagley and Harold Schindler. Publisher: Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 1994. ISBN: 0874211786. Contains original diaries and journals edited and with introductions by historians Korns and Morgan.

American historian Lowell Dale Morgan (18 December 1914 — 30 March 1971), generally cited as Dale Morgan or Dale L. Morgan, was an accomplished researcher, biographer, editor, and critic. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Utah State University (USU) is a public land-grant university whose main campus is located in Logan, Utah. ...

External links

• New Light on the Donner Party, by Donner Party historian Kristin Johnson, features biographical information, a chronology, primary documents, and more.
• The Donner Party, a website by Dan Rosen, features a comprehensive chronology of the disaster and much additional material.
• The diary kept during the period November 20, 1846 – March 1, 1847, by Patrick Breen, one of the travelers, is available in hypertext as well as color scans of the pages, at the Online Archive of California website.
• Statement of Daniel Rhoads, statement given by Daniel Rhoads, member of the first rescue party.
• Living Through the Donner Party by Jared Diamond
• Archaeologist Julie Schablitsky describes what she and colleagues discovered at the Donner family campsite.

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