Jim Bridger

Jim Bridger was born in Virginia in 1804 and was a storybook frontiersman.
This incredible man discovered the Great Salt Lake in Utah in the year of 1824.
He discovered South Pass, Wyoming in 1827, before Jedediah Smith. Also, Yellowstone Park in 1830, 44 years before it was "officially" discovered.
He was the founder of Fort Bridger on the Trail of Oregon or the Oregon Trail in 1843.

From 1824 until late 1860s he was an Indian Fighter, Beaver Trapper, Fur Trader, and Guide to the Wild West. In fact, he was about the most picturesque character in our western history.

Jim Bridger was a mountain man and guided more wagon trains along the westward trail than all the other scouts put together. His nearly photographic memory of the terrain and trails made him most popular.
Jim Bridger spoke many languages including English, French, Spanish, and six Indian Tongues as well.

In 1855 he bought a farm south of Kansas City, Kansas. On the crest of a hill south of Indian Creek, he built a stone farmhouse and lived there until he was 77 years old.
In 1881, Jim Bridger died and was buried there at his farm.

Major General Dodge, the Union Pacific Engineer consulted with Jim Bridger and together they decided on the best route through the mountains. On the good advice of Jim Bridger, Union Pacific was first to the west.

In gratitude for the help Jim Bridger provided Union Pacific, General Dodge had an elaborate Monument erected for Jim Bridger in Mt. Washington cemetery where his remains were moved in 1904.

• The Dominguez-Escalante Expeditions Journal:

Through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in 1776

• I Walked to Zion:
- Young Pioneers on the Mormon Trail

• The Gathering of Zion:
- The Story of the Mormon Trail

• National Geographic's Guide to:
- Lewis and Clark Trail

• Hiking Historic Trails
- Utah's Favorite Hiking Trails

• Scenic Driving - Travel guides
- Scenic Driving in Utah

• Historical reading
- The Old Spanish Trail

---