Ft. Bridger, Wyoming

Ft. Bridger, named for the famous scout and mountain man Jim Bridger, was founded in 1843 as an outpost for the fur trade and emigrant trading post. This is a reconstruction showing the fort as it may have appeared in the 1840s. Insets show views inside the stockade.

Conflicts with Mormon settlers emigrating to Utah, over the pass discovered by Bridger and bearing his name, led to the US Army taking over the fort in 1858. It was finally closed in 1890 as later conflicts with Native Americans wound down. The site is now a Wyoming State Historic Park. A number of the buildings from the US Army's later occupancy have been restored, and I may post on them at some point. There are also some early 20th century automotive exhibits from the early years of the Lincoln Highway, one of the first official coast-to-coast routes in the US. The original transcontinental railroad route and modern Interstate-80 pass thru here, more or less along the trail Bridger originally blazed.