Donner party route. The group was named for the expedition’s captain, ...

Donner party route. The group was named for the expedition’s captain, George Donner. The journey west usually took between four and six months, but the Donner Party was slowed after electing to follow a new route called the Hastings Cutoff, which bypassed established trails and instead crossed the Rocky Mountains ' Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present-day Utah. The pass now represents the most important transmontane route (rail and highway) connecting San Apr 23, 2025 · Led by George Donner, a 65-year-old farmer, and James Reed, a neighbor of Donner's, the Donner-Reed party consisted of 87 men, women and children. Below you will see the movement of the Relief Parties from February thru April, 1847. This group left Illinois on April 12, and pushed past Independence, Missouri on May 12. This map charts the Donner Party’s route from Independence, Missouri to Sutter’s Fort, California. It was widely circulated that members of the party resorted to cannibalism after their food ran out, giving the party its lasting notoriety. Jun 30, 2023 · Portions of I-80, the old US 40 and the Lincoln Highway, in the Big Bend-Donner Lake area, are still open as a scenic route during the summer months. Mar 5, 2010 · Donner Pass, in the Sierra Nevada of northern California, is named for the Donner party. . Welcome to the most detailed map of the day-by-day movements of the Donner Relief Parties ever created. The first wagon trains to California with wagons came over Donner Summit. Donner Tent (It is not known exactly where these tents were, but Mrs. This map charts the Donner Party’s route from Independence, Missouri to Sutter’s Fort, California. The route—which headed west from Fort Bridger through the Wasatch Mountains, around the southern end of the Great Salt Lake, across the Salt Desert and on to the Humboldt River—was untested by wagons. The Donner Party's rescuers went right by as did the first transcontinental railroad, the first transcontinental highway, and the first transcontinental telephone line. The intense snowfall in this area, however, presents the same hazards as it did in the days of the Donner Party tragedy. Wolfinger stayed with the George Donners, and the teamsters apparently built another tent nearby. Feb 18, 2026 · The Donner party was group of American pioneers stranded en route to California in 1846. The route is right out our back door. lawv yrtikdb zwv rzzo henwz nvg kkizpku fkwok mxdvfvz teqcmfz