Wyoming
Here the present-day highway crosses what remains of an all but forgotten road. That road led to the remote goldfields of western Montana, booming since 1862. The government, in 1859, ordered Captain W.F. Raynolds, Topographical Engineers, U. S. Army, to reconnoiter Rocky Mountain topography and potential routes leading to areas of indicated mineralization. Old Jim Bridger, noted explorer since fur trade days, was Raynolds' guide. In 1864 official energy was still concentrated on the Civil War and that most famous of mountain-men laid out this road himself. The Oregon Trail was the trunk line of western roads. Although Montana's mines lay far north of its course, further west - - - in Idaho - - - a branch-road turned off to those diggings. But that right-angle-turn added some 200 time-consuming, exhausting miles to the shortest feasible roadway. During 1863, John Bozeman had pioneered a road, east of the Big Horn Mountains and up the Yellowstone Valley, cutting across the angle, saving two weeks travel time. Still, by crossing Indian hunting grounds, his road increased the hazard of overland freight and travel. Bridger's route - - - west of the Big Horns - - - reduced danger from Indian attacks while saving ten days time. But the Bridger Road was a compromise. It never was as well known as either of its alternatives. Later, it was important in the settlement of northwestern Wyoming.| HM Number | HM1MOX |
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| Tags | |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Sunday, August 9th, 2015 at 6:03pm PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 13T E 317226 N 4771595 |
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| Decimal Degrees | 43.07505000, -107.24508333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 43° 4.503', W 107° 14.705' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 43° 4' 30.18" N, 107° 14' 42.3" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 307 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling West |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 44380-44392 US-20, Casper WY 82604, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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