Donner Party & Early Settlers

Truckee’s history includes the tragic expedition of the Donner Party along with other early settlers and the groundbreaking construction of the transcontinental railroad over the Sierra Nevada.

The Donner Party

In 1846, the Donner Party followed the Truckee Route to the California Trail, a branch of the Emigrant Trail, to attempt a crossing what is now called Donner Pass. Arriving in late October, heavy snows had already begun creating harsh conditions for their journey. The party was said to have resorted to cannibalism to survive the winter. 47 of the 87 men, women and children perished.

Donner Memorial State Park is a great place to learn about the Donner Party while you're in Truckee. The park has a beautiful Visitor Center with exhibits on the natural and cultural history of the region. Discover the history of the Donner Party, early settlers, the Washoe Tribe, and more.

Keep reading: The Harrowing Rescue Missions to Save the Donner Party Survivors, History Channel

Transcontinental Railroad

The railroad has played an important role in Truckee history, beginning with the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad over the Sierra Nevada, to logging, ice harvesting, and tourism by rail.

Completing the Transcontinental Railroad over rugged Donner Pass was no easy task, the country’s greatest achievement of the 19th century. The 1659 foot tunnel took 2 years to complete. It was bored through on August 30, 1867 and just 2 months later, the first train rolled through. Up to 12,000 workers, including 10,000 Chinese worked on grading roadbed, blasting tunnels, and laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada.

Learn more about the history of Truckee railroads from the Truckee Donner Railroad Society, or by paying a visit to the Truckee Railroad Museum, located inside a Southern Pacific Railroad caboose.

Early Settlers

The discovery of gold at Coloma in 1848 and silver in Virginia City in 1859 drew early settlers, with the first white settlement in the Truckee basin recorded on April 20, 1866. The settlement was known as Pollard’s Station and grew into a small township surrounding a hotel at the west end of Donner Lake.

Pollard’s hotel burned to the ground on April 23, 1867, and although it was later rebuilt, the new hotel also succumbed to a fire.

Around this time, the early beginning’s of Truckee starting to take shape. By 1863, Joseph Gray constructed a log station along the Dutch Flat-Donner Lake Wagon Road at the intersection of today’s Jibboom and Bridge streets where he provided provisions to freight wagons. Gray, along with George Schaffer, also built a bridge across the Truckee River and charged a fee to cross. In 1865, S.S. Coburn operated a stage station and public house in today’s Brickelltown.

When the Central Pacific Railroad began their ascent into the Sierra Foothills, Coburn’s Station was selected as the advance camp for the railroad construction crews and overnight the settlement grew into a bustling lumber town.

Truckee Culture, Museums & History

Curious to learn more Truckee history? Pay a visit to these museums and visitor centers to dive into the fascinating stories of the Donner Party, railroad, early settlers, Native Americans and more.