Description: PC0002 Image no. 132. Donner Lake Peak and Pass from wagon road
Photographer/artist: Alfred A. Hart
Date taken: 1860s
Photo location: Donner Lake
Type: photo
Subject: Transcontinental Railroad Construction
County: Placer
Source: Stanford Collection
References:
Contributor: Stanford Libraries
Notes: Original image is 4.1 MB. Image at Stanford site. Also attributed to Carleton Watkins image no. 132, DSHS3186. HCS 1/13/2022. See also Goldbaum and Huffman's 2012 book, Waiting for the Cars, p. 254. The authors note: "Eastbound freight wagons roll past Donner Lake on the Dutch Flat & Donner Lake Wagon Road [DFDLWR]. The low gap in the distant range is Donner Pass, through which the road and the railroad crossed the Sierra crest." Donner Lake was originally called Truckee Lake and Lake Pass in 1860 but by the fall of 1861 it was known as Donner Lake and Donner Lake Pass.
The authors continue: "When the railroad was opened from Sacramento to Truckee and Reno in June of 1868, traffic over the road diminished immediately. Shortly thereafter, the road was deeded to Placer and Nevada counties, through which it passed. However, from that time on, the road carried little traffic and received virtually no maintenance. The old trace was found to be nearly impassable in 1909, when the California Legislature authorized the restoration of the road from Emigrant Gap to Donner Lake as a state highway. Yet, with improvements made, the route was chosen for the Lincoln Highway in 1914 and the Victory Highway nine years later. It became a portion of US 40 in 1928. Interstate 80 was completed across the crest in 1964, following a new course a mile to the north." Image also in University of Nevada at Reno digital collections.
Rights: NOT FOR SALE; research only
Identifier: AAH0026
Serial Number: 2080
Donation: Alfred A. Hart Collection (AAH) collection (#34)
