On June 6, 2018, California State Parks celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Pioneer Monument that towers over Donner Memorial State Park. Erected after 20 years of effort in the early 1900s, this thought-provoking tribute to America’s westward pioneer families was dedicated in 1918.
Since then the monument has withstood a century of harsh Sierra winters. Year after year, the cast-bronze parents protecting their small children on top of the pedestal resolutely face west, determined to cross forbidding Donner Pass in their effort to reach California.
America’s storied yet controversial westward expansion movement in the mid-19th century is being re-written by scholars and historians focused on the cultural and environmental impacts of this historic migration.
However, when it comes to the pioneer monument at Donner Memorial State Park, the focus on family is appropriate. A large portion of the overland emigrants traveling in wagon companies consisted of small or extended families. During the Donner Party entrapment in the winter of 1847, family units far surpassed single men in survival rates.
School teacher Charles F. McGlashan first moved to Truckee, California, in 1872 where natural curiosity led him to learn more about the Donner Party wagon train and what really happened that winter. He explored the encampment sites near Donner Lake and at Alder Creek Meadows north of Truckee. McGlashan interviewed many of the survivors and in 1879 published his book, History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the Sierra. McGlashan’s research was unprecedented at the time and his book is still considered a classic.
Charles McGlashan spoke to the California service organization Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) about raising the money for a monument to the Donner Party. The agreed and appointed Nevada City dentist Dr. Chester W. Chapman as chairman of their Donner Monument Committee in charge of fund raising.
Dr. Chapman wanted to raise $30,000 or more for an appropriately-sized structure, but many, including San Francisco’s mayor James Phelan, felt that a simple engraved slab of polished granite would suffice. Chapman resisted all efforts to economize the project and his committee scheduled a ground-breaking ceremony with the placement of a cornerstone to strongly signal the forthcoming monument.
Dr. Chapman brought much-needed energy and organization skills to the endeavor, but he also asserted that it should be dedicated as the Pioneer Monument to honor all overland emigrants, not just the Donner group. Chapman’s idea to recognize all who crossed the plains spoke to the pride of those who wished to honor the memory of their forefathers, beyond just the Donner Party.
Completed in 1917, the base pedestal for the pioneer statue was constructed of rock and gravel from around Donner Lake. It was McGlashan’s measurements of tall tree stumps cut during the winter of 1847 that dictated the 22.5-foot height of the pedestal for the monument, representing the depth of snow that winter.
An analysis by this writer of the peak snow depth at Donner Lake in 1847 suggests a maximum depth of about 17 feet but reducing the number by 5 feet or so would have made no difference to the starving emigrants. See my book The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm.
All eight remaining survivors of the Donner Party were invited to the dedication ceremony on June 6, 1918, but only three felt healthy enough to appear. Nearly 3,500 people attended the event, but instead of covered wagons there were 300 automobiles in the parking lot.
McGlashan told the Native Sons organization that he would allow them to re-publish his Donner Party book with profits earmarked for a statue. Other financing could come from selling small glass vials containing wood from a log used to build one of the emigrant’s cabins. Further financial help would come from the Native Daughters of the Golden West as well as the State Legislature.
Charles McGlashan was adamantly opposed to Chapman’s proposal to minimize the Donner connection. He told the committee that the monument was going to be built on the exact site of one of the three cabins that sheltered the emigrants at the lake. McGlashan himself had excavated the location and found period artifacts like dishes and cooking utensils.
Above is the original historic plaque installed on the east side of the pedestal. Note that the wording starts with "On this spot." Due to the insistence of Dr. Chapman and the Sons & Daughters organizations a new plaque was created that began with "Near this spot." That is how the plaque reads today. The change infuriated McGlashan.
Overlooking Donner Lake.
Angry and frustrated at the wording change and the changed dedication focus, Charles McGlashan felt that that his goal of a Donner Party memorial had been compromised — he never visited the site again. Dr. Chester Chapman succeeded in his vital role as chairman of the monument committee, but due to procedural process he was left off the Native Sons official list of committeemen. In the end, however, McGlashan’s dream prevailed as most park visitors today see the pedestal and statue as a monument to the Donner Party.
View of the Sierra Crest west of Lake Tahoe through rimed trees from Donner Peak ski area, circa March 2018.
READ MY TAHOE WEEKLY Magazine article for more details about the monument’s origins.
CHECK OUT this new 8 minute documentary video about the Donner Party rescuers and their stories of survival and heroism in the mountains. This short film was produced for the new theater at the Visitor Center at Donner Memorial State Park. Yours truly is the host and narrator.
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