Although Judge Carter dabbled in many areas, his main responsibility revolved around his activities as the post trader at Fort Bridger. In this store he sold various items not supplied by the Army to the garrison, including limited amounts of liquor. A post council of administration set a ceiling on prices to make sure that the military received a fair deal. In addition to food, dry goods and other items regularly found in a general store of this period, Carter also provided a post office, as well as telegraph and even telephone service in the store's many years of operation. When Judge Carter died in 1881, his wife Mary, continued in her husband's footsteps. She operated the store and its many facets, and when the government abandoned the fort in 1890, she became the custodian of the grounds until they were sold.
The building itself was an "L" shape with one wing of whitewashed wood running to the east and west for the store and a stone section which stood to the northeast for a tavern. The remains of this last section measures 25 feet 5 inches by 53 feet 4 inches. The walls rise 10 1/4 feet and the peak of the roof is 16 feet.
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