The Bridger Trail, also known as the Bridger Road and Bridger Immigrant Road, was an overland route connecting the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

to the gold fields of

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 Columbi ...

. Gold was discovered in

Virginia City, Montana Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District. The population was 2 ...

in 1863, prompting settlers and prospectors to find a trail to travel from central

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

to Montana. In 1863, John Bozeman and John Jacobs scouted the

Bozeman Trail The Bozeman Trail was an overland route in the western United States, connecting the gold rush territory of southern Montana to the Oregon Trail in eastern Wyoming. Its most important period was from 1863–68. Despite the fact that the major pa ...

, which was a direct route to the Montana gold fields through the

Powder River Country The Powder River Country is the Powder River Basin area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming, United States. The area is loosely defined as that between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powder, ...

. At the time the region was controlled by the

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

and

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

, who stepped up their raids in response to the stream of settlers along the trail. In 1864 the commandant of

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading-post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte rivers. They joined ...

, Colonel William O. Collins, concerned about the hostilities along the Bozeman Trail, asked

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 ...

to lead a party of settlers from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

on a new route to the mines through the

Big Horn Basin The Bighorn Basin is a plateau region and intermontane basin, approximately 100 miles (160 km) wide, in north-central Wyoming in the United States. It is bounded by the Absaroka Range on the west, the Pryor Mountains on the north, the Bighor ...

along the western edge of the

Big Horn Mountains The Bighorn Mountains ( cro, Basawaxaawúua, lit=our mountains or cro, Iisaxpúatahchee Isawaxaawúua, label=none, lit=bighorn sheep's mountains) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a nort ...

. In 1859, Bridger had guided a topographical expedition through the area, and knew the region well.Wyoming Division of State Parks and Cultural Resources, The Bridger Trail
/ref> The road ran approximately , paralleling the Bozeman Trail and running to the west of the

Bighorn Mountains The Bighorn Mountains ( cro, Basawaxaawúua, lit=our mountains or cro, Iisaxpúatahchee Isawaxaawúua, label=none, lit=bighorn sheep's mountains) are a mountain range in northern Wyoming and southern Montana in the United States, forming a ...

in the lands of the

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

and

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

people. with In all, 10 wagon trains made the trip in spring and summer of 1864, two of them guided personally by Bridger. The following year, hostilities along the Bozeman Trail had escalated to the point where

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Grenville M. Dodge ordered

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Patrick E. Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans during the ...

to lead the first

Powder River Expedition :''This event should not be confused with the Big Horn Expedition during the Black Hills War.'' The Powder River Expedition of 1865 also known as the Powder River War or Powder River Invasion, was a large and far-flung military operation of the U ...

to try to end the raids along the trail. Connor chose Bridger as one of his guides, and Bridger spent the next few years guiding various military excursions into the

and never again led settlers along the Bridger Trail.

Route

The route left the Oregon Trail at Red Buttes, near

Fort Caspar Fort Caspar was a military post of the United States Army in present-day Wyoming, named after 2nd Lieutenant Caspar Collins, a U.S. Army officer who was killed in the 1865 Battle of the Platte Bridge Station against the Lakota and Cheyenne. Found ...

in central Wyoming, and headed in a northwestern direction. The trail crossed Badwater Creek near present-day

Lysite, Wyoming Lysite (also Lysaght) is an unincorporated community in northeastern Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. It lies along local roads northeast of the city of Lander, the county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of governme ...

, and followed Bridger Creek into the Bridger Mountains located just to the west of the southern end of the

. After cresting the range, the trail led down along the Kirby Creek drainage to where it meets the

Bighorn River The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately long, in the states of Wyoming and Montana in the western United States. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its ban ...

near the current town of

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

. From there, the trail turned north and follows the Bighorn River. At the mouth of the

Nowood River The Nowood River (also known as Nowood Creek) is a river in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The -river rises in the Bridger Mountains on the southeastern side of the Bighorn Basin. The stream runs north through the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains an ...

the trail turned northeast and headed toward the

Greybull River The Greybull River is a tributary of the Big Horn River, approximately long in northern Wyoming in the United States. The river was reportedly named for a white buffalo that had been seen on its banks. Native Americans consider the appearanc ...

. After that crossing, the settlers forded the

Shoshone River The Shoshone River is a long river in northern Wyoming in the United States. Its headwaters are in the Absaroka Range in Shoshone National Forest. It ends when it runs into the Big Horn River near Lovell, Wyoming. Cities it runs near or thr ...

near Powell and continued north into Montana. After traveling through Bridger Canyon, the trail met the Clark's Fork Yellowstone River and followed it downstream past the present day town of

Bridger, Montana Bridger is a town in Carbon County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Billings, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 662 at the 2020 census. The town of Bridger was named for the scout Jim Bridger. Residents orig ...

, finally joining the

at its confluence with Rock Creek, about 10 miles south of present-day

Laurel, Montana Laurel is a city in Yellowstone County, Montana, United States. It is the third largest community in the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is located in the Yellowstone Valley, as an east–west terminal division point of the Burlingto ...

. The two trails continued together west across Montana to the Virginia City gold mines. The trip could be made in as little as 34 days, though most of the wagon trains took some time to prospect the streams along the route. As compared to the Bozeman Trail, the Bridger Trail was much less suited for wagon trains as grazing and water along the route were limited. However, in 1864, the trail is credited with handling 25% of the total growth in Virginia City's population. At least ten wagon trains used the trail in 1864, the largest being composed of 129 wagons and carrying some 350 to 450 people.

Remnants

Few remnants of the trail remain today. Some visible tracks can be seen in Fremont County and Hot Springs, County. There are two sets of remaining carvings of settlers names: one on a sandstone cliff face near Bridger Creek, and the other at Signature Rock between

Byron, Wyoming Byron is a town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 593 according to the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. History The ...

and

Cowley, Wyoming Cowley is a town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 655 at the 2010 census. In 2019 the US Census Bureau put that figure at 623. Geography Cowley is located at (44.882684, -108.468193). According to the United Sta ...

. The trail was not well-defined in most places, but used a single well-defined path at stream crossings and other places where the terrain limits the choice of route, where the most distinct traces survive. Two portions of the Bridger Road are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The Dry Creek crossing at is located in Big Horn County near

U.S. Route 14 U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For ...

/ 16/ 20 at Bridger Butte. The Waltman crossing at is in

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

where the Bridger Road crosses U.S. 20/

U.S. Route 26 U.S. Route 26 (US 26) is an east–west United States highway that runs from Seaside, Oregon to Ogallala, Nebraska. When the U.S. highway system was first defined, it was limited to Nebraska and Wyoming; by the 1950s, it continued into Idaho and ...

near Sand Draw and Waltman Draw. The sites encompass each. with The Dry Creek Crossing and Waltman Crossing site were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 1975.

References

External links

Roadside Sign on US Highway 16

Bridger Road - Dry Creek Crossing
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Bridger Road - Waltham Crossing
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office {{NRHP in Natrona County, Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Big Horn County, Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Natrona County, Wyoming Native American trails in the United States Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Trails and roads in the American Old West Historic trails and roads in Wyoming Historic trails and roads in Montana Gold rush trails and roads History of the Rocky Mountains Pre-statehood history of Wyoming Pre-statehood history of Montana Native American history of Wyoming Native American history of Montana