New Museum Slated for California’s Donner State Park
A new museum at Donner Memorial State Park in California’s Sierra Nevada region is slated to open in 2009. Exhibits in the 9,100-square-foot building will focus on Native American life, railroad history and the ill-fated Donner Party, a pioneer wagon train that came to symbolize hardships experienced by early settlers.
Just steps from the new building is the eastern shore of Donner Lake, where settlers traveling from Independence, Mo., camped during the harsh winter of 1846-47; 41 of the 89 emigrants perished. When all provisions and oxen had been consumed, the desperate pioneers finally cannibalized their dead friends and relatives in one of the most gruesome sagas of the Old West. A towering monument sits on a 22-foot base that represents the depth of the snow when the Donner Party was stranded.
The museum’s theme will be expanded to explore the role of Donner Pass as a barrier to trans-Sierra travel. Museum plans call for a small auditorium, gift shop, visitors center and expanded parking.
Hiking trails, camping facilities, lake activities and picture-perfect mountain scenery greet today’s visitors. The park is in Truckee, about 100 miles east of Sacramento. (530-582-7892, www.parks.ca.gov)
Courtesy of leisuregrouptravel.com
Chitra Mogul
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