Daniel Rhoads

Who was Daniel Rhoads?

Daniel Rhoads was a California, USA, pioneer and rancher who helped rescue the Donner Party.

He grew up in Illinois, but he became interested in an account of General John C. Frémont's first trip to California, and decided to go to the West Coast. In 1846, he and his wife Amanda Esrey and other family members made the 5-month journey across the country, arriving in Wheatland, California on October 4, where they stayed for about a month before settling near Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley.

While working on a ranch there, word of the Donner Party's plight reached them and Rhoads was a member of the first group of rescuers. They had to carry supplies and provisions on foot for 80 miles through the snow, but were able to return with eighteen people.

During the California Gold Rush, Rhoads mined the American River, making about $8,000 in gold. Using this money, he purchased a ranch outside of Gilroy, California. During a drought in 1857, he took his livestock to the Kings River. His family joined him 1860, moving into an adobe he constructed in Kingston. El Adobe de los Robles Rancho, still standing, is the second oldest adobe in the San Joaquin Valley and has been continuously occupied since its construction. It is registered as California Historical Landmark #206.