The Donner Party is generally recorded as having 87 people at its peak, traveling in a wagon train of families, hired hands, and servants in 1846.

Quick Scoop

  • Most standard historical counts say the Donner Party numbered 87 members when the group was fully formed on the trail.
  • Some historians broaden the count to around 89–91 people when including two Native American guides who later joined, plus a few loosely associated travelers who left or died before the main entrapment in the Sierra.
  • Of the roughly 87 core emigrants, about 48 survived and around 39–42 died, depending on which individuals are included in the tally.

Why the number varies

  • The phrase “Donner Party” can mean just the core wagon train that took the Hastings Cutoff or the larger group of everyone who traveled with, joined, or briefly attached to them along the way.
  • Some counts include the two Miwok men (Luis and Salvador) who joined later in Nevada, raising the total to 89, and some lists stretch to 91 by adding others connected to the party before they reached the Sierra Nevada.

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