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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.
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Hayden Yellowstone Expedition at Echo Canyon and Ft Bridger
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