Gordon
Richards
In June of 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad completed
construction of the Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road over the Sierra to
Nevada. The rough wagon trail passed through Donner Pass and down to Donner
Lake, running along the north shore on the present route of Donner Pass Road.
Dr. Daniel Strong of Dutch Flat is credited with exploring the Donner Pass route
that would eventually become the Pacific Railroad line. He guided Theodore Judah
through the pass in 1860, and claimed 350 acres at the west end of Donner Lake
with the completion of the wagon road in 1864, calling it Strong's Ranch.
Strong planned to build a hotel on his land to compete with the dozens of stage
stops that were springing up every mile or so along the wagon road. Instead, he
leased his property to Joseph Delos Pollard, an experienced hotelman. By
September 1864, Pollard was erecting a large building, part of which was being
used as a hotel. The site was where Donner Pass Road and South Shore Drive now
meet, and included the West End Beach frontage.
The resort was strategically located to serve teamsters
leading huge freight wagons and stagecoaches traveling on the dusty road. The
California Stage Company switched its stages from Henness Pass Road running from
Nevada City by way of Webber Lake, Sardine Valley and Verdi to the Donner Lake
Road.
Pollard's Station was a stage transfer point where travelers would change
coaches, grab a quick meal, and roll on with fresh horses and a new driver. The
eastbound stage arrived at 6 a.m. and the westbound at midnight, with the rest
of the day full of passing freighters. The blacksmith shop was capable of making
repairs to all makes of wheeled vehicles.
A popular resting place
The Atlantic & Pacific States Telegraph Company had installed its telegraph
wires along the Donner Lake Road, and Pollard had tapped into the line to keep
his guests in touch with the world. His guest read daily California and Nevada
newspapers, further enhancing the hotel's reputation.
Pollard was a New Yorker, a friendly man who made sure his
guests were satisfied with their stay in his comfortably elegant resort. He
reigned over the large two-story house that had a kitchen and dining room on the
ground floor and sleeping rooms on the upper floor.
Visitors would find a table full of fresh fish from Donner Lake, fresh game from
the surrounding mountains and all kinds of imported foods brought up the
mountain by wagon. He hired excellent cooks to feed hungry visitors and well
qualified bartenders to wash the dust down.
Fishing boats, rowboats and sailboats were available from the beach, and the
fish were cooked up for the guests' next meal. Guests were taken to the Donner
Party camp site at the other end of the lake and told tales of their struggle
for survival in 1846. Horses were rented from the huge barn for trips throughout
the mountains.
The advancing railhead directed even more traffic through Pollard's Station in
1865 through 1867. Wells Fargo shifted its express service from the Placerville
route through South Lake Tahoe to the Donner Pass route, bringing even more
customers. The wealth of the booming Comstock Lode in Virginia City all passed
through Donner Lake.
As the railhead moved up to Cisco, the ride got shorter, and the traffic
continued to increase. As the railroad construction crews moved to the Donner
Pass and Truckee River areas, all of the hotels and road houses along Donner
Lake were doing a booming business.
