Bridger is a town in Carbon County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. It is part of the

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

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

Jim Bridger James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, Animal trapping, 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 ...

. 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 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, also called a wind park 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 turbines covering an exten ...

, Mud Springs Wind Ranch, with 120

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

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 on Montana Secondary Highway 310 which runs through the town. The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River flows past the east side of the community and the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwest, Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of ...

passes just east of the river. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

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 se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 population density was . There were 345 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.12%

, 0.40% Native American, 0.13% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races.

or Latino 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

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

, 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 Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

and the last survivor of the crew of the " Ruptured Duck" during the Doolittle Raid, was born here.

References

External links

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