Jim Bridger was an eighteen-year-old former blacksmith’s apprentice when he came to the West in 1822, employed by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company as an explorer-trapper. In the next twenty years, he reached nearly mythical status as the West’s preeminent guide.
In 1843, Bridger went into a kind of retirement and began a less well-known career as a businessman. He and his partner, Louis Vasquez, established Fort Bridger as a rendezvous point for trappers as early as 1825. Less a “fort” and more a trading post and blacksmith’s shop, Fort Bridger served as a supply station for emigrant trains. More than three hundred thousand people—going to Oregon for farming opportunities, to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake for religious freedom, and to California for the prospect of great riches—passed along the route that included Fort Bridger after they had crossed the Continental Divide at South Pass (see South Pass City entry, pages 120–125).
The Latter-day Saints purchased the fort in 1855 as a dependable way station for Mormon pioneers headed to the Salt Lake Valley. The Mormons burned their fort in 1857 after a conflict with the U.S. Army, which in turn built a military outpost on the spot. That installation served off and on until it was abandoned in 1890, the same year Fort Laramie ceased operation.
WALKING AROUND FORT BRIDGER
An 1880s barracks now serves as a visitors’ center and museum. As you head toward the barracks, you’ll pass a cluster of outbuildings that include, among others, the post trader’s store, a warehouse, a mess hall, the Pony Express barn, and the grave of Thornburgh, a dog whose feats of heroism are recounted on a sign adjacent to his grave.
The fort’s combination visitors’ center and museum features hundreds of artifacts, including a impressive cannon that was transported by mules and an informative timeline that traces the history of the fort. You will also be given a walking-tour brochure.
Jim Bridger’s original fort stood near where that museum now stands, but a 1980s replica has been built a short distance to the northwest. It looks small and almost flimsy, but the original fort served its purpose and was a welcome sight to travelers. A red flag flies above the fort, a well-known indication to pioneers of a trading post. The post offers small items for sale, and a separate building within the stockade shows the trader’s living quarters.
This 1980s reconstruction of Jim Bridger’s trading post stands northwest of the fort’s original location.
The reconstruction of the trader’s quarters at Fort Bridger features, in addition to a bed and a fireplace, a rifle and a collection of Native American items, including grinding stones.
This Victorian officers’ quarters is filled with period furniture and memorabilia.
The most elegant buildings stand near the southeast boundary of the fort. One is the spacious, two-story clapboard Commanding Officer’s Quarters, built in 1884. The other is identified in the brochure only as a “ranch house,” but it was originally an officer’s quarters also dating from the 1880s. Although it is smaller than the commanding officer’s house (naturally), it is actually much more architecturally attractive. The two-story Victorian was sold at auction after the closing of the fort and moved off the property, serving nearby as a ranch house. It was returned in the 1970s and restored.
The Commanding Officer’s Quarters has finely detailed window trim and an equally elaborate front porch.
WHEN YOU GO
From South Pass City, Atlantic City, and Miner’s Delight, take Wyoming Highway 26 southwest 42 miles to Farson. From there, head 41 miles south on U.S. Highway 191 to Rock Springs and then 70 miles west on Interstate 80 to the town of Fort Bridger.