The buildings in this area are virtually all that remain of the once-thriving commercial empire of Judge William Alexander Carter and his wife Mary, Fort Bridger's only two post traders. Carter arrived at Fort Bridger with Colonel Albert S. Johnston's Army in 1857 and soon was appointed post trader. Selling to soldiers, emigrants, railroad builders, cattlemen, settlers, and Indians, he amassed a fortune and became one of Wyoming Territory's most influential citizens. His interests extended into lumbering, agriculture, livestock, mining, and politics, and his 'Bug' brand was known on cattle ranges of four states. Carter County in Dakota Territory, which predated Wyoming Territory, was named for him, as was Carter Mountain in northern Wyoming. The Carters entertained such notable visitors as President Chester A. Arthur, James Bridger, Chief Washakie, Mark Twain, Jay Gould, Sidney Dillon, and Generals Sherman, Harney, Crook, Augur, and Bisbee. After William's death on November 7, 1881, Mary E. Carter took over his position and continued the empire he had begun in 1857. When Fort Bridger was abandoned in 1890, Mary became its caretaker until the government auctioned off the buildings in 1895. The Carter family maintained the business through the early Twentieth Century, and Judge and Mrs. Carter's contributions to the Rocky Mountain West, though different in nature, were comparable to those of James Bridger.
