Fort Bridger State Historic Site was on my route through SW Wyoming, so Thistle and I stopped for a break to take a walking tour.
But before our tour, this restored motor court from the 1920s-30s was right next to the parking area. This was along the famous Lincoln Highway.
Office and entrance sign.
Inside the office.
Cabin and garage.
A peek inside one of the cabins.
And another.
And the facilities. Now on to Fort Bridger...
"I have established a small fort, with a blacksmith shop and a supply of iron in the road of the emigrants on Black Fort of Green River, which promises fairly..."
Thus spoke Jim Bridger in a letter he dictated to would-be suppliers in 1843. This wooden stockade is a replica of the original fort whose location became one of the main hubs of westward expansion used by mountain men, Indians, emigrants, and Mormon pioneers, the US Army, the Pony Express, the Overland Stage and the Union Pacific Railroad.
This wagon traveled to Utah during the pioneer trek of the Thacker family. It is believed that this wagon passed through Fort Bridger in September of 1861 on their way to Salt Lake. It was donated to the museum by the Thacker family.
The stockade began as an emigrant supply stop along the Oregon Trail. It was obtained by the Mormons in the 1850s, and then became a military outpost in 1858 at which time more modern buildings were added, replacing the original fort.
Stone and wood chimney.
Detail of the chinking between logs and stones.
The blacksmith shop.
Fur trappers would bring their furs here to be pressed and baled and sold at a rendezvous.
Notice the sod roof.
And the hardware made in the blacksmith shop.
The rest of the tour is of buildings built after the US army took over and made Fort Bridger a military outpost. Judge William Alexander Carter arrived here with Colonel Albert Johnston's Army in 1857. He and his wife Mary became Fort Bridger's only Post Traders. In this store he sold various items not supplied by the Army to the garrison.
Inside the Post Trader's store.
Other buildings that remain associated with the Carters include an ice house, chicken coop, wagon and carriage sheds, a pony express stable, wash house, milk house, and school house.
The ice house was tall with 3 doors one over the other to allow entry at all levels as the ice stock grew.
Ice tongs and burlap inside the ice house.
Old bear trap and farm machinery.
US Army wagon.
Pony Express stable, circa 1860-61.
You can still see where the horses chewed on the wood.
Inside the wash house.
Inside the one-room school house.
The school was built in 1860 for the education of Judge Carter's children and other children of the fort.
A rendezvous re-enactment was just finishing up after the Labor Day weekend, and most of the tents were still in the open areas around the fort.
Tents from the rendezvous.
Re-enacters were packing up to go home.
This was the fort's "new" guard house and beyond it, a sentry box. The guard house was built in 1887 and in use until 1890.
The sentry box was used by the guards in bad weather. Many log enlisted men's barracks were located in the space beyond the sentry box.
The guard house was used to house the men during their 24 hour shifts on guard duty. There was also a cell to confine prisoners. The beds were slanted to ensure that the guards would not fall asleep while on duty.
Man pulling a handcart like the ones Mormons used instead of covered wagons on their trek west.
More handcarts. From 1856-1860, converts walked 1,200 miles to Salt Lake City pushing and pulling handcarts loaded with 500 pounds of supplies.
This 1887 infantry barracks now houses a museum. Because I had Thistle I did not go inside, but understand they have a short movie about the fort.
This log and frame officer's quarters was among the first buildings constructed at Fort Bridger in 1858. It stood first in a row of six such cabins for housing officers and their families. Now it and the 1884 Commanding Officer's Quarters at the end of the boardwalk are the only remaining structures on "Officer's Row."
In the 1880s, this cabin was used as bachelors' apartments. This room portrays the living quarters of an easy-going captain, a veteran of the Civil War. The remains of a poker party illustrates how the officers combatted boredom at isolated army posts.
By contrast, this first lieutenant's quarters is sparse and simple. His souvenirs reflect his military service in the southwest and the northern plains.
Each apartment has a parlor in from and a bedroom in the back.
Walking down Officer's Row.
A stop to appreciate the little things...
This was the Commanding Officer's Quarters, home to Major General and Mrs. T. W. Anderson from 1883-1884.
A photo showing the Andersons on the front porch.
The furnishings inside are much more elegant.
Music Room
Note the moose horn chair. I think I would need some cushions to sit in that.
This was the previous quarters for the commanding officer.
The Carter family cemetery.
Who is buried here...
This well-preserved and restored fort is well worth the visit if you are traveling through the area.
