The range is named after
Jim Bridger (James Felix Bridger, 1804-1881) a 19th Century
mountain man. Bridger pioneered the
Bridger Trail, an alternative to the
Bozeman Trail, in 1864. Both took settlers from the Oregon/California/Mormon Trail in southern
Wyoming to the gold fields in Montana territory, especially Virginia City. While the Bozeman Trail went east of the
Bighorn Mountains in more dangerous territory, Jim Bridger veered settlers west of the range and into the
Bighorn Basin. The trail then crossed today's Montana-Wyoming border south of Bridger, Montana, also named for Jim. Another key place where the trails diverged is heading west into the
Gallatin Valley. While John Bozeman's trail crossed roughly at today's Bozeman Pass, Jim Bridger took settlers a short way up the Shields Valley, then through the Bracket Creek cutoff, and down through Bridger Canyon. This route is longer but not as arduously steep as the pass. From this segment of his trail, the canyon and Bridger Range to its west were named after the mountain man. On January 10, 1938,
Northwest Airlines Flight 2 crashed in the Bridger Mountains, killing all 10 aboard. This was the first fatal crash of a
Northwest Airlines aircraft. ==Prominent peaks==