| Jim Bridger, Fort Bridger, Overland
Jim Bridger
Born: March 17, 1804 in Richmond, Virginia
Died: July 17, 1881 on his farm near Kansas City, Missouri
Jim Bridger was an accomplished trapper and mountain man who became an expert scout for the Army. In 1822, at the age of 18, Jim Bridger left St. Louis and signed on with William Ashley to trap beaver on the upper Missouri River
Jim Bridger was known by the nicknames of Old Gabe and Blanket Chief. Jim Bridger was a partner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1830. Jim Bridger was the first white man to discover the Great Salt Lake in 1824 - 1825 and attempted to described the geysers at Yellowstone but no one believed him
In 1842 Jim Bridger established Fort Bridger on the Black's Fork of the Green River in Wyoming Territory. Jim Bridger guided prospectors overland to the gold mines of Montana and laid out new overland trails for stage routes such as the one for the Central Overland. Jim Bridger charted the overland route for the Leavenworth Pike's Peak Express Company out of Denver
In 1865 Jim Bridger showed General Grenville Dodge and his surveyors, where overland routes were through the mountains to the coast to build the Union Pacific railroad
In 1867 Jim Bridger now with failing eyesight mandated he leave Fort Bridger and return to Missouri |
