James "Jim" Felix Bridger (1804-1881) = Explorer, Guide, Mountain Man. Scout. Storekeeper.
Storyteller. Trapper. Best known to have discovered the Great Salt Lake in
1824, Yellowstone in 1840 and founded Fort Bridger on the Oregon Trail in 1843.
Born on March 17 in Richmond,
Virginia, he grew up to not only speak English, but French and Spanish as well
as six Native American languages. He was reported to have been made chief of
five tribes as well. He traded with the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Comanche, Kiowas,
and the Sioux Indians, bringing the furs in to Chouteau's trading post.
When the fur market in Europe crashed
and ended his trapping career, Bridger switched to storekeeping, buying a
general merchandise store which his son-in-law operated in Westport
(present-day Kansas City, MO). In 1855 he bought a farm near the old Dallas
community south of Kansas City on State Line running from 103rd to
107th St and east to Wornall Road where on the crest of the hill
south of Indian Creek he built a stone farmhouse. It is said that he and George
W. Kemper also built a store in Little Santa Fe (f. 1852) which is on the old Santa Fe Trail 2o miles from
Independence, however it burned in 1856
during the border warfare.
Jim acquired a pair of elk horns as a
prize once for the fastest steamboat on the Missouri River to mount to their
prow. They were first presented to the Polar Star, then the James H. Lucas.
Lucas beat the Star's record from St. Louis to St. Joseph by three hours and 16
minutes.
Bridger died, blind at 77, on July 17
and was buried about 200 yards northwest of 101st and Jefferson
streets where he lay until he was removed to Mt. Washington Cemetery in 1904.
Historical Note #1: One of biggest things that led to the downfall of the fur business was
the discovery of the detrimental effects of mercury poisoning to the hat makers
in Europe. Mercury was used to felt the fur then.
More to read:
1.) Biographical Sketch of James Bridger: Mountaineer, Trapper, and Guide. By Grenville M. Dodge. Unz, New York, 1905. Google Books.
3.) History of
Jackson County, Missouri. By W. Z. Hickman. Historical Publishing Co., Topeka,
KS.; 1920; reprinted Southern Historical Press, Greenville, SC; 1990.
4.) Jackson County
Pioneers. By Pearl Wilcox. Independence, MO; 1975.
5.) Jim Bridger:
Frontiersman and Mountain Guide. By Charles W. Maynard. PowerKids Press, NY.;
2003.
6.) The History of
Jackson County, Missouri. Union Historical Co, Birdsall, Williams & Co;
KCMO; 1881; reprinted by Ramfire Press, Cape Girardeau, MO; 1966.
7.) Oregon-California Trail Association, 524 South Osage
Street, Independence, MO 64051-0519, (Map brochure -- Following the Trails in Jackson County, Missouri;
magazine & newsletter -- Overland Journey; News From the Plains)
8.) Oregon Trail Tourist Brochure, National Park Service
9.) “New Red Bridge Spans River, Tracks and History” by Seann
McAnally. Jackson County Advocate. Nov. 23, 2011, page 1. (One of the old Red Bridges still exists.)
10.) Missouri: Day by Day. By Floyd C. Shoemaker, Editor. Mo State Historical Society, 1942.
11.) 1877 Plat map of Jim Bridger's Land in Jackson County, MO. (look at the most southwestern corner of map.)
12.) "Trailblazers Influenced the First Chapters of New Santa Fe"
13.) Kansas City Missouri: Its History and Its People 1808-1908. By Carrie Westlake Whitney. S. J. Clarke, Chicago, IL, 1908. pp. 24-26.
14.) "Regular Missouri River Packet 1853: The Entirely New and Elegant Steamer Polar Star. Thos. H. Brierly, Master." Glasgow Weekly Times, 21 Apr 1853. Retrieved from website: Chronicling America.
Fun Note: Johnny Horton sings a ballad about Jim Bridger. If you wish to hear the song, click here!
11.) 1877 Plat map of Jim Bridger's Land in Jackson County, MO. (look at the most southwestern corner of map.)
12.) "Trailblazers Influenced the First Chapters of New Santa Fe"
13.) Kansas City Missouri: Its History and Its People 1808-1908. By Carrie Westlake Whitney. S. J. Clarke, Chicago, IL, 1908. pp. 24-26.
14.) "Regular Missouri River Packet 1853: The Entirely New and Elegant Steamer Polar Star. Thos. H. Brierly, Master." Glasgow Weekly Times, 21 Apr 1853. Retrieved from website: Chronicling America.
Fun Note: Johnny Horton sings a ballad about Jim Bridger. If you wish to hear the song, click here!
Places to visit in MO.
1.) Missouri River -- Navigable rivers
were the first highways. Plan a driving highway trip along the Missouri River
from St. Louis to St. Joseph (or visa versa). Imagine you are Bridger, paddling
a canoe up or down river.
2.) Stop, Drop Your Eyes, and Read the marker on Bridger's
Bldg, next-door to Kelly's Inn, at 504 Westport Road, Kansas
City, MO.
3.) Look up! A Westport Historical marker is attached to a brick building on the corner of Pennysylvania and Westport Roads, Kansas City, MO.
4.) Westport Historical Society, 4000 Baltimore, Kansas City
4.) Westport Historical Society, 4000 Baltimore, Kansas City
5.) Pioneer Park, Westport Road and
Broadway, Kansas City.
6.) 1963 Westport Historical Society Marker Dedicated to the
Memory of the Pioneers Who Settled the Town at the Westport Shopping Center,
1002 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO. (near the old covered wagon at the corner of the parking lot atop a steel post).
7.) National Frontier Trails Center, Independence.
7.) National Frontier Trails Center, Independence.
8.) Watts Mill markers at 103 St. (south side) between State Line Road
and Wornall, Kansas City, MO.
9.) Red
Bridge Road. Also stop at Minor Park to see the prairie schooner swales that crossed the Blue River and
read the DAR marker in the swales between Holmes Road (east of) and the
Bridge. Kansas City. (Renew the Blue River)
10.) Red Bridge (Portrait) spans Big Blue River between Blue River Parkway and Holmes Road
11.) New (Little) Santa Fe historical markers, on the Old Santa Fe Trail, between State Line and Wornall Road at the cemetery (west of Avila University), Kansas City, MO.
11.) New (Little) Santa Fe historical markers, on the Old Santa Fe Trail, between State Line and Wornall Road at the cemetery (west of Avila University), Kansas City, MO.
12.) Jim Bridger's Newest Markers -- 901 Carondelet Drive (site of his original farm home) and at the New Santa Fe Historical Society Trails Center, 9901 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Mo.
13.) Findagrave #21552 and #134 [Note: There is no indication of a cemetery in the quiet neighborhood of 101st and Jefferson streets (just off Wornall Road), south Kansas City, however the original memorial marker in the Stubbin Watts Cemetery has been recorded.]
14.) Mt. Washington Cemetery, 614 Brookside Dr., Independence
13.) Findagrave #21552 and #134 [Note: There is no indication of a cemetery in the quiet neighborhood of 101st and Jefferson streets (just off Wornall Road), south Kansas City, however the original memorial marker in the Stubbin Watts Cemetery has been recorded.]
14.) Mt. Washington Cemetery, 614 Brookside Dr., Independence
Historical Note #2: Modes of travel across America during Jim Bridger's lifetime were
walking, horseback, canoeing, wagons, prairie schooners, ferries, and
steamboats. The steamship Arabia traveled up and down the Missouri River around
the same time (1850s) as the Polar Star and the James H. Lucas. Visit the
Steamboat Arabia Museum, 400 Grand Ave, Kansas City to see the kind of things
steamboats brought to supply shopkeepers such as Bridger along the Missouri River.
Steamboats have been described as "a Walmart on paddlewheels."
Biography written by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 8/17/2022.
Biography written by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 8/17/2022.
