In the fall of 1846, twenty-five members of the Donner Party became trapped by an early snowstorm at Alder Creek Valley. The George and Jacob Donner families, their teamsters, and fellow travelers suffered extreme hardship and starvation, spending the winter there cut off from the rest of their party at Donner Lake. Only eleven survived. Near this site that winter, Tamsen and Elizabeth Donner gave up their lives for their families when they feared their many children could not survive the cold and starvation brought on by the early blizzard. Throughout the snowbound winter, they provided care and comfort to their families and companions and desperately tried to prevent the death of their loved ones. Both died, but most of their children survived to carry their mothers’ dreams of new life and new beginnings to the valleys of California. Their struggle and sacrifice endured as a legacy of the pioneer spirit that helped shape California’s future.