Fort Bridger

Fort Bridger was a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River. A small town, Fort Bridger, Wyoming, remains near the fort and takes its name from it. The post was established by the mountain man Jim Bridger, after whom it is named, and Louis Vasquez. During the 1840s through 1860s,it served as a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail.

With the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847, disputes arose between Bridger and the new settlers. By 1853, a militia of Mormons was sent to arrest him for selling alcohol and firearms to the Native Americans. He escaped capture, temporarily returning to the East. The Mormons established nearby their Fort Supply the same year. In 1855, Mormons took over Fort Bridger, reportedly buying it from Bridger for $8,000 in gold coins.

On the night of October 7, 1857, "Wild Bill" Hickman set fire to the fort to keep it from falling into the hands of the approaching United States Army during the Utah War. At the end of the hostilities, the United States Congress rejected Brigham Young's claim to the fort, nor did it recognize Jim Bridger's continuing claims to the fort. Instead, the fort was profitably run by William Alexander Carter. However, by 1869 the Union Pacific Railroad made the fort obsolete.

In 1928, Fort Bridger was sold to the Wyoming Historic Landmark Commission for preservation as a historic monument, now designated as Fort Bridger State Historic Site.

External links

* [http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=14 Fort Bridger page] , Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources
* [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/fort_bridger.htm Fort Bridger info] from the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office