Fort Bridger was first established
in 1843 as a
trading post by
Jim Bridger
and his partner,
Louis Vasquez, on the on Black's Fork of the Green River.
Planning to trade both with the
Indians and the westward bound emigrants, the first "fort"
was composed of two double-log houses about 40 feet long,
joined by a pen for horses, and provided a small blacksmith
shop.
Westward bound emigrants who looked
forward to the stop and a break from the long monotonous days of
traveling, were often disappointed upon their arrival at Fort
Bridger. Unlike
Fort Laramie, a "civilized" outpost, in their minds, Fort
Bridger was little more than a crude collection rough-hewn log
buildings.
Although strategically
located, the fort never
served as a base for any of
the major military
expeditions of the 1870's
against the
Indians in the region,
but some of the garrison was
reassigned for fighting
purposes. Temporarily
abandoned in 1878, the post
was reactivated in 1880. A
decade later it was
abandoned by the military.William
Carter's family continued to
live at the fort until 1928,
when it was sold to the
Wyoming Historical
Landmark Commission for
preservation.
Today, the fort is a
Wyoming State Park.