Timeline for Bridger Canyon
Named for Jim Bridger
Originally compiled by George Havens, updated by Tom Fiddaman, 2022
| 100 million years ago: | Bridger Canyon was an inland sea |
| 1804-1881: | Jim Bridger – “Old Gabe” – was without equal as mountain man, guide, trapper, scout, frontiersman, trader. |
| 1840: | Last rendezvous of the mountain men. Bridger took his 3rd Indian wife, a Shoshone. |
| 1856: | Kit Carson and Jim Bridger visit Bridger Canyon hunting for beaver. |
| July 1864: | Jim Bridger took first wagon train along Bridger Cut-off Trail through our canyon. |
| September 1864: | Bridger led second train through canyon. |
| Bridger Cut-off Trail not used after 1864. | |
| As US Army scout: | |
| Jim Bridger was paid $5 a day, | |
| Jim Bridger never got lost, | |
| Indians never surprised him, | |
| He was never wrong about the way to go. | |
| 1867-1887: | Fort Ellis in operation: 13th US Infantry, 2nd Regiment, US Cavalry |
| 1867: | Soldiers from Ft. Ellis built a sawmill and road 16 miles up Bridger Canyon. |
| Before 1870: | Canyon undisturbed except for Indian raiding parties on their escape route from hunting in Gallatin Valley. |
| 1870s & 1880s: | German immigrants arrived in canyon, including the Papke family. |
| 1870s: | Bangtail Ridge named by Robert Stevens who “banged” or squared his horses’ tails. |
| 1885: | David Christie moved here from Minnesota. |
| 1878: | Horse-stealing Indians fight with cowboys at Battle Ridge. One man shot. |
| 1893: | US Govt bought Davies Spring on Bridger Creek for fish hatchery. |
| 1886: | Upper Bridger School – log cabin on Jackson Creek Road |
| 1896: | Lower Bridger School built at Kelly Canyon and Bridger Canyon Roads. Classes met only 4 months per year. |
| 1900: | Upper Bridger School – frame building. |
| 1906: | White frame church built on Jackson Creek Road. Services were held on Sunday afternoon. |
| 1909: | Telephone service initiated |
| 1910: | US Mail service launched |
| 1912: | Community held its first annual Bridger Canyon Picnic. |
| October 1915: | The famous “M” at the end of the Bridger Range was created. |
| 1924: | Happy Day Club becomes Bridger Canyon Women’s Club. |
| Jan 10, 1938: | Northwest plane crashed near Flaming Arrow Ranch. Ten people died. First in MT history. |
| May 1948: | Rankin & Widmer flew over the Bridgers and found the site for Bridger Bowl. |
| 1949: | Electrical service was extended up the canyon to Sedan. |
| Brackett Creek was named for Col. Brackett, commander at Fort Ellis. | |
| 1954: | Formation of group to develop the Bridger Bowl Ski Area. |
| Tow tickets at Bridger Bowl Ski Area were $2 a day. Tow was 2600-ft rope. | |
| 1971: | Zoning resolution for Bridger Canyon adopted by County Planning & Zoning Board. |
| September 1976: | Landmark Maiden Rock at south end of canyon was blasted down by road crews. |
| 1978-1980: | Volunteer fire department started. 1st Chief: George Ripley, 2nd Chief: Arnie Jacobs |
| 1985: | Jane Newhall sells 800-acre ranch to Ken Lundberg for Tepee Ridge homes. |
| 1994: | In a highly cited ruling, MT Supreme Court finds in favor of BCPOA, invalidating the county’s approval of a major Base Area development. |
| 2000: | Bridger Canyon enters new millennium as Montana’s “first best place” to live. |
| 2001: | Bridger Canyon fire threatens homes, burns hundreds of acres, requires 15 fire companies, hotshot crews, helicopters |
| 2001: | BCPOA launches a zoning update draft, under the leadership of Bruce Jodar |
| 2005: | Bridger Canyon Partners proposes a large scale development in the Bridger Bowl Base Area. Led by Kate Vargas and Deb Stratford, BCPOA opposes. |
| 2008: | Bridger Canyon Partners’ proposal withdrawn. |
| 2008: | State leases BC tracts for oil & gas drilling. BCPOA leads adoption of a Natural Resources CUP to guide development, adapted from Trail Creek zoning. |
| 2009: | Cell towers proposed in the Canyon – initially a 160′ lighted structure on Green Mountain. Cell towers are not a listed use, so BCPOA begins working with the County and providers to draft a regulation |
| 2010: | County Commission appoints BC Zoning Advisory Committee to restart zoning updates. |
| 2010: | BCPOA’s defense of county denial of barn permit below the M prevails in MT Supreme Court. |
| 2014: | Personal Wireless Service (i.e. cell tower) amendment adopted. At hearing, Atlas Towers hopes it could become a model for other regulations statewide. |
| 2014: | BCPOA appeals a county variance decision, leading to an eventual settlement that improves a number of administrative regulations. |
| 2014: | Crosscut Mountain Sports acquires remaining BCP Base Area parcels at auction. |
| 2018: | Board member Deb Stratford killed by drunk driver. |
| 2019: | Over broad opposition from residents, county repeals Zoning Regulation 14.2. |
| 2020: | Bridger Foothills Fire |
| 2021: | Partial adoption of Zoning Advisory Committee draft. |
| 2021: | BCPOA and many residents help GVLT secure an easement, permanently protecting public access on the Bridger Ridge. |
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