Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th - century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River and later a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail , California Trail and Mormon Trail . The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War until it was finally closed in 1890 . A small town , Fort Bridger , Wyoming , remains near the fort and takes its name from it . Bridger ' s Trading Post . The post was established by the mountain man Jim Bridger , after whom it is named , and Louis Vasquez . Mormons and Fort Supply . With the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in 1847 , disputes arose between Bridger and the new settlers . By 1853 , a militia of Mormons was sent to arrest him for selling alcohol and firearms to the Native Americans , a violation of Federal Law . He escaped capture , temporarily returning to the East . Near the existing fort , the Mormons established their own Fort Supply the same year . In 1855 , Mormons took over Fort Bridger , reportedly buying it from Bridger for $ 8 , 000 in gold coins . The Mormons claimed , over Bridger ' s denials , they had purchased the fort from Vasquez . There was a deed dated August 3 , 1855 , recorded October 21 , 1858 , in Salt Lake City in Records Book B . p . 128 that ostensibly sold Fort Bridger to the LDS Church . Bridger and Vasquez ' s name was signed by H . F . Morrell in the presence of Alinerin Grow and William Adams Hickman , purportedly pursuant to a power of attorney . Since Bridger was absent from the area in 1855 , acting as guide for Sir St . George Gore , and absent a signed power of attorney from Bridger . Utah War . Relations deteriorated between Mormon leaders in Utah Territory and federal authorities in Washington , D . C . Following the election of President James Buchanan , the United States Army was ordered to Utah to install a new governor , replacing Brigham Young , as well as to establish a military presence . As the Army advanced , the Mormons in the Green River valley withdrew , burning Fort Supply and Supply City . On the night of October 7 , 1857 , " Wild Bill " Hickman set fire to Fort Bridger to keep it from falling into the hands of the approaching United States Army during the Utah War . The army wintered near Fort Bridger . In June 1858 , as the majority of Johnston ' s Army set off for Salt Lake City , two companies of troops remained behind and established Fort Bridger as an official Army post . The other troops continued on and eventually established Camp Floyd south of Salt Lake City . William A . Carter was appointed as post sutler at Fort Bridger in 1858 . Perhaps more than any other individual , the history of the post revolves around this civilian merchant who remained at the center of the post ' s activities for its entire history . At the end of the hostilities , the United States Congress rejected Brigham Young ' s claim to the fort , nor did it recognize Jim Bridger ' s continuing claims to the fort . Fort Bridger as Pony Express Station . Named after Jim Bridger . The first owner of the fort was perhaps the most picturesque figure in early Wyoming . He was often called the ‘ Daniel ’ Boone of the Rockies . Fort Bridger , which he built and Bridger ’ s Pass , which he discovered were named for him . This historical fort has several interesting old buildings still standing ; the old Pony Express barn and the Mormon protective wall are still in existence there . Civil War . Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 , all the federal troops in Utah Territory were withdrawn to fight the Confederate States Army in the east . The following year , Colonel Patrick Edward Connor was sent to Utah with a column of California Volunteer Cavalry and Infantry , establishing Fort Douglas near Salt Lake City . Connor later sent two companies and reestablished Army presence at Fort Bridger . A variety of volunteer units were stationed at Bridger during the Civil War . Return of the Regular Army . In 1866 with the muster out of the volunteer units , the Regular Army returned to man Fort Bridger . The first were companies of the Eighteenth Infantry . The isolation of the post decreased some in 1869 when the Union Pacific Railroad was built through the area . Ultimately , the expansion of the railroads in the west made this and other forts obsolete . Fort Bridger was first abandoned in 1878 but then re - established two years later . The post was finally closed by the army in 1890 . Town of Fort Bridger . After the departure of the Army , the buildings were sold off and the site soon became a cattle town in southwest Wyoming . A hotel was established in the old Commanding Officer ' s Quarters and the large stone barracks eventually became a milking barn . Fort Bridger State Historic Site . In 1928 , Fort Bridger was sold to the Wyoming Historic Landmark Commission for preservation as a historic monument , now designated as Fort Bridger State Historic Site . Several original buildings remain and have been restored . The 1888 stone barracks contains a museum with artifacts from different time periods in the fort history . Visitors can also tour a reconstructed trading post and an interpretive archaeological site . Annual Fur Trade Rendezvous at Fort Bridger . The Fort Bridger Rendezvous is a celebration of the fur trade era that existed in the 19th century . The rendezvous at Fort Bridger has been an annual event since the mid - 1970s . It is now one of the largest rendezvous in the west drawing hundreds of merchants and several thousand visitors each year . The rendezvous is run by the Fort Bridger Rendezvous Association , a non - profit organization . Events include primitive demonstrations , cook offs , black - powder rifle shooting , knife throwing and hawk contests , candy cannon , native American Indian dancing , story telling , magic shows and more . A large portion of the rendezvous is commerce . All products sold within the fort during the rendezvous must pre - date or be a replicate of something that pre - dates 1840 . Photographers at Fort Bridger . Photographers had been passing through this frontier military post since almost the inception of the art form . Daguerreotypist John Wesley Jones visited the garrison in 1851 and Samuel C . Mills , traveling with the Army bound for Utah , produced at least one image of Fort Bridger in 1858 . Salt Lake City photographer Charles W . Carter came during the winter of 1866 - 67 and his former mentor , Charles Savage , visited a number of times between 1866 and the early 1870s . The noted Union Pacific Railroad photographer Andrew J . Russell also stopped here in 1869 . Census records show a photographer named Simeon Pierson at the post in 1870 . In 1876 - 77 , a soldier , Private Charles Howard ran a studio at the post . Archaeology . Dr . Dudley Gardner began work at Fort Bridger in 1990 . Over the past fifteen years , he and his students have uncovered a portion of Bridger ' s original post , the Mormon fortification and the Army ' s subsequent occupation . Work is currently advancing on the official excavation reports .