Bridgeport, Nebraska - "Trail City, USA"
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 41° 40.411 W 103° 05.944
13T E 658236 N 4615274
Nebraska historical marker commemorating Bridgeport and the many wagon trails which passed through the area.
Waymark Code: WM21P9
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 08/20/2007
Views: 46
Bridgeport, Nebraska
"Trail City, USA"
Bridgeport, founded in 1900 as a station by the Burlington Railroad,
celebrated its centennial in 2000. The town is located on or near many historic
trails of the West, including the Oregon, California. Mormon, Pony Express, and
Sidney-Black Hills Trails. Courthouse and Jail Rocks, south of Bridgeport, were
landmarks mentioned in many travelers' journals.
In 1876 Henry T. Clarke constructed a bridge across the North Platte River,
three miles upstream from the future site of Bridgeport, to improve the trail
from Sidney to the gold-mining towns of the Black Hills. Freight from Sidney and
gold from the mines flowed across the bridge for nearly a decade. A village
named Camp Clarke sprang up nearby.
The coming of railroads to the North Platte Valley established Bridgeport and
brought increased settlement to the area. Irrigation projects in the early 1900s
promoted agricultural development. Bridgeport became the seat of
newly-designated Morrill County in 1908. It remains a stable community, whose
economy is based on agriculture, railroads, and government. ~ text of marker