Bridger is a town in Carbon County,

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, United States. It is part of the

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The population was 662 at the 2020 census. The town of Bridger was named for the scout

Jim Bridger James Felix "Jim" Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was known as Old ...

. Residents originally wanted to name the town after George Town, one of the original settlers, but Town encouraged residents to name the newly founded town after his old friend Jim Bridger. The

Bridger Trail The Bridger Trail, also known as the Bridger Road and Bridger Immigrant Road, was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold fields of Montana. Gold was discovered in Virginia City, Montana in 1863, prompting settlers and prospecto ...

passes to the southeast of the town of Bridger.

History

The Bridger Post Office was officially established on October 29, 1898 with Jno. M. Babcock as the town's first postmaster. In December 2014, construction began on a large

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

, Mud Springs Wind Ranch, with 120

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...

s, at a site 12 miles southeast of Bridger. The project was renamed Pryor Mountain Wind Project and was completed in late 2020.

Geography

Bridger is located at (45.294337, -108.916421). Montana Secondary Highway 310 runs through town. The

Clarks Fork Yellowstone River The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River (sometimes called the Clark's Fork River) is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, 150 mi (241 km) long in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming. It rises in southern Montana, in the Gallatin N ...

flows nearby. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Bridger has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 708 people, 315 households, and 195 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 347 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2.7% Native American, 0.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 315 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.1% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age in the town was 45.7 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 745 people, 313 households, and 200 families living in the town. The

was 1,175.2 people per square mile (456.6/km²). There were 345 housing units at an average density of 544.2 per square mile (211.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.12%

, 0.40% Native American, 0.13% from

, and 1.34% from two or more races.

of any race were 3.62% of the population. There were 313 households, out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,103, and the median income for a family was $32,981. Males had a median income of $24,063 versus $18,929 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $17,060. About 10.7% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bridger Public Schools provides education from kindergarten through 12th grade. They are known as the Scouts. Bridger High School is a Class C school. Bridger Public Library serves the town.

Notable person

* David Thatcher, a Staff Sergeant in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

and the last survivor of the crew of the " Ruptured Duck" during the

Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japa ...

, was born here.

References

{{Authority control Towns in Carbon County, Montana Billings metropolitan area