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The Origin of a Statue
by Doris Foley
Hardcover
Nevada County Historical Society
For many years statuary played an important part in the commenoration of historical events, but by the end of World War I the public had lost interest in monumental sculpture in preference to the abstract movement that followed. However, one statue still commands attention at Donner Lake, near Truckee in northern California.
Erected in 1918 to honor i9th-century travelers who had followed the Truckee River route to the new state, the site for the monument was chosen in memory of the Donner Party, the most famous—or in-famous-emigrant train of all time.
Bogged down by snowstorms in the winter of 1846-1847, at least half of its 84 members perished; the others (mostly children) were carried out by rescuers who braved the elements to reach the starving immigrants.
Ironically, the effort 70 years later to erect this monument caused another human struggle within the committee responsible for building it. Such men as attorney Charles F. McGlashan of Truckee, Senator James W. Phelan of San Francisco, dentist Chester W. Chapman of Nevada City, and Oakland Tribune publisher Joseph R. Knowland often quarreled with each other and with the several sculptors who at one time or another were approached for the project.
In the end it was the artist John McQuarrie who created a statue that pleased everyone; but Dr. Chapman and Charles McGlashan, formerly warm friends and allies, were permanently estranged during the bitterly-fought process. This is the fascinating story of what caused the trouble, based in large part on original documents residing in the Searls Historical Library at Nevada City.
The author, Doris Foley, co-founded the Nevada County Historical Society and the Searls Historical Library, serving as its first librarian. She wrote The Divine Eccentric, a widely acclaimed book about the California adventures of the 19th-century celebrity, Lola Montez.