Bridger, Fort

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BRIDGER, FORT

BRIDGER, FORT, on Black's Fork, Uinta County, Wyoming, was a frontier trading post and later a U.S. Army fort. In 1843, James Bridger and his partner, Louis Vasquez, built it and operated it for a number of years. Bridger's post gained its greatest fame as a way station and supply point for western emigrants. Around 1855, Mormon colonists from Utah took over the post and in 1857 burned it on the approach of U.S. troops. In 1858 the U.S. Army rebuilt it as a military post and in 1890 finally abandoned it. It is now a state park.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Janin, Hunt. Fort Bridger, Wyoming: Trading Post for Indians, Mountain Men, and Westward Migrants. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2001.

Rupert N.Richardson

See alsoMormon Expedition ; Trading Posts, Frontier .

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Fort Bridger State Park

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