The Wagner Perspective

Photo image of Fort Bridger grounds from the porch of the commander's quarters.

Jim Bridger established Fort Bridger in 1843 as a fur trading post. It was composed of two double-log houses about 40 feet long that were joined by a pen for horses. The Mormon Pioneer Company reached the fort on July 7, 1847, and spent a day there but considered its prices too high.

Thomas Bullock commented, "several brethren go to make trades with the French & Indians, but few succeeded, as they could not obtain sufficient for their goods." Here the main Oregon-California Trail turned north toward Fort Hall, and the Mormon Trail/Hastings Cutoff continued west to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. The fort served as a Pony Express, Overland Stage and transcontinental telegraph station in the 1860s and was garrisoned by the U.S. Army between 1857 and 1890.

The fort has a museum/visitor center and a reconstruction of Bridger's log trading post.

Fort Bridger State Historic Site
Box 35
Fort Bridger, WY 82601
Tel: 307-782-3842
http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/bridger1.htm

More Mormon Pioneer NHT sites:

1. Nauvoo National Historic District - Nauvoo, Illinois
2. Montrose Landing - Montrose, Iowa
3. Garden Grove - Garden Grove, Iowa
4. Mount Pisgah - Thayer, Iowa
5. Winter Quarters Complex - Omaha, Nebraska
6. Murdock Site - Alda, Nebraska
7. Sand Hill Ruts - Sutherland, Nebraska
8. Ancient Bluff Ruins - Broadwater, Nebraska
9. This is the Place Heritage Park - Salt Lake City, Utah

Back to the Suggested Trail Sites to Visit page.