Town of Truckee

From: "Chaun Mortier" cmortier@truckeehistory.org

Please let me introduce myself and to explain our Research Library's goals. I am Chaun Owens-Mortier, Research Historian for the Truckee Donner Historical Society. This summer we opened our Research Library for the first time. Myself, our Research Librarian; Katie Holley along with our Photo Archivist, Dennis Beegley are creating a complete archival database of our in-house resources.

... we have located a bit of information that contradicts the Town of Truckee information and that was the actual date for the naming of the town from Coburn's Station to Truckee. ... The Town refers us [to] the History of Truckee and we are dedicated to providing accurate information. The accepted date for the naming of Truckee is 1868. In referring to your article Iron Horse Along The Truckee we can see that it was actually named in late July 1867. That article references the following:

19) E.B. Crocker to Huntington, 1 August 1867; confirmed in Sacramento Bee (3 August 1867) and Gold Hill Daily News (6 August 1867). Subsequent use of the name Coburn's in the newspapers and by railroad officials, and the fact that the name change was announced again the following spring in the Sacramento Union (11 April 1868) and the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise (14 April 1868) indicate that the new name was not immediately adopted.

I am contacting the Virginia City Historical society in an attempt to gain a copy of the article from their area but I am requesting assistance from your organization to obtain copies of the other sources noted. Do you have copies of the correspondence between E.B. Crocker to Huntington and copies of the news articles from the Sacramento Bee, Gold Hill Daily News and the Sacramento Union? If you do can we obtain photocopies of those for our records? If not, can you direct me as to where I can obtain those copies.

I have located advertisements in the Truckee Republican from September/October of 1868 where business are still saying they are in Coburn's Station so the statement that the new name was not readily accepted is a very true fact but we would be grateful to have the correct information in file as to when the name was actually changed.

—Chaun Owens-Mortier, Research Historian, Truckee Donner Historical Society

Donner party

From: J.Butterfield@fresnolibrary.org

In my California History class, our instructor asked us to explain the importance of the Donner party in California history. Aside from it being a morbid and cautionary tale, I am guessing that the CPRR used the same route through the Sierras for the completion of their leg of the transcontinental Railroad. Can anyone comment on this?

—JB