The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada.

Mar 27, 2025 · Donner party, group of American pioneers stranded en route to California in 1846. The group was named for the expedition’s captain, George Donner. It was widely circulated that members of the party resorted to cannibalism after their food ran out, giving the party its …

On April 16, 1846, the Donner Party left Springfield, IL on the 2500 mile journey to California, in what would become a great tragedy in westward migration.

Mar 5, 2010 · The Donner Party was a group of 89 emigrants from Illinois who purportedly turned to cannibalism to survive after getting trapped by snowfall while on a westward journey in 1846.

Feb 19, 2025 · By November 1846—or as early as October 1846, according to some accounts—the Donner-Reed party had reached the Sierra Nevada. But they were quickly trapped by an early and brutal snowstorm that...

Apr 14, 2016 · Like most pioneer trains, the Donner Party was largely made up of family wagons packed with young children and adolescents. Of the 81 people who became stranded at Truckee Lake, more than half ...

Oct 12, 2022 · After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the border between Nevada and California, the party soon ran out of food and ultimately resorted to feeding off the flesh of their dead...

In mid-December a group of fifteen donned makeshift snowshoes and trudged through blizzard conditions in an attempt to break through the pass and into California. Seven (five women and two men) survived to alert the community at Sutter's Fort of the Donner Party's plight.

On Feb. 19, 1847, the first rescuers reached members of the Donner Party, who had been snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains near the California-Nevada border for nearly four months. The group originated in Illinois, bound for new promises in …

Jan 6, 2024 · The Donner Party, a group of American pioneers, embarked on a fateful journey to California in 1846, seeking new opportunities in the American West. However, their expedition would turn into one of the most harrowing and tragic tales of westward migration in U.S. history.