Show fort F ort thornburg historic road written 1 ritten by 1 ILI 11 II A CAUTE 11 roii rort bridger iyott in the springs of 1880 when the U S government had under con sider atlon the removal ot of the white arter utes from colorado Colors da to the ulnah ute reservation in northeastern utah the war department ordered the ot of tort PrId bridger ger wyoming Wy orning because ol 01 ita its proximity to the ulma ute reservation and became it afforded needed e d quarters for troops while another fort which waa was planned on the south side of the uinta moun cains would be in course of construction st when the order for the rc re lish ment of fort part bridger baj liven glyen judge william A carter who had lived there since its construction in 1858 WAS instrumental in bringing to the attention ol 01 the commanding officer of the department the practicability of making wagon road across the uintah mount mountains to the proposed site of the new poet post by a shorter and more direct route than the one then in use by way of park city utah there were two trails in use by the uintah ute indians between their reservation and port bridger one crossed immediately nest est of gilberts peak and w was known all the soldier trail because it was said to have been used by general marcy in 1857 on his trip to new mexico tor for emergency supplies for the army sent to utah under general albert sidney johnson the other route known as PA the lodgepole trail ran from a point near the present burnt fork poet post office in wyomma Wyora jig to ashley utah in the summer of 1881 Cl general emeral george crook commanding the department of the ilett made an inspection trip across the mountains from port fort bridget bridger to the uintah ute agency and the writer was invited to accompany 1 irn fin the party crossed by the trail west of Oi gilberts lberts peak rhe route WM waa found to be impracticable lor for a wa an road and general crook decided upon nn the lodge pole trail advised by jude carter as the best route for a road aart favo ed its construction and adoption tor for the transmission of troops and supplies there was as much rivalry between tons towns in Golo colorado raflo atall and wyoming tor for the Io location Lation of 0 the road to the new military post but port fort bridger was favored by distance on this account and because ot of general crooks crook a approval judge carter undertook at his own expense tho the work of 0 making a passable road along the route designated expecting thal it would mould be adopted and Imp improved rosed later bythe war department the winter or of 1832 was approaching there was no time for surveys streams had to be bridged marshes cardu ro ed a roadway cleared through the timbered sections and two long and difficult dug ways were to be constructed one ot of the latter a half balf mile long ran from sand canyon to the top ol 01 the mountain near lodgepole lodge pole park and the other two titles rilles loner long climbed I 1 tl I 1 o c main range bet between een harmouth Mam Ham mouth springs and summit park As a result of the hardships suf in this enterprise judge carter was taken sick at his camp on the stream named after olter him carter creek and died shortly after wards of pleurisy at his houie in fort bridger in the fall of 1881 a military post with a small garrison was established on ashley creek near I 1 the present town vernal utah and was named furt t thornburg Thor obury in honor of major J M thornburg who was killed in 1878 1879 in an engagement enragement ga Ra with the white river utes early in 1882 a contract conr act was let toy by the chief quartermaster ot the department for freighting supplies by way of the new nev road from carter station on the union pacific R it R via fort bridger Brid frer to fort thornburg Thom burg it fell to the lot of the writer to carry this contract out and on the first day of may 1882 1982 we started with aven ty two six mule teams and wagons loaded with freight for the new post it soon became evident that from the character of the past winter at fort rort bridger we had ery nery erroneous conceptions ot of what we would encounter in attempting to freight through the mountains so early in the spring the dugway dug way between sand canyon and lodgepole was blocked with snow and ice which had to be removed booro fore wo we could get our outfit up the from the head held of the dugway dug lug way the road was almost impassable It Ila avines vinc filled with melting snow and arid water nearly up to tho the bazon beds bogs in which both teams and agona were often mired domn at the same time hills so soft that all the teams we could hook on an were mere often required to pull a single wagon to the top and elopes slopes so undine that the whole crew with ropes was needed to keep a loaded wagon irona from upsetting were everyday experiences up the ions long dugway dug due way above the Mam Marn mouth springs and on top of the main ranee rance our difficulties seemed to have been overcome over overcome pome when wo we reached brush creek where in one locality a arate road had to be cut through the timber for each wagon thu the ground at thia this place appeared dry and firm but each team broke through a thin crust into a quicksand be neath nuking the road impassable for the next telny in spite of ob stables ir we ire e delivered the freight at port Th omberg in three weeks from the day we started As eoon soon as conditions permitted in the summer of 1883 1882 major W II 11 bisbee who wa was then in corn com at port Erld bridger ger sent lieutenant R it IL young with a detach ment of soldiers to work on an the road which from that tune time wan was known by the army as the road such good wort wont was done by this party c especially in removing kovl large boulders from the roadway and corduroying the swamps that when lien wo we had to take a second arata of supplies over the road in july 1883 1882 it was h different story we had learned too that mule mules were hot not best adapted to such conditions and we used work oxen with bullwhackers whack tra instead of moleskin tiers ners tor for drivers ahe succeeding trips were still less difficult although port rort Th omberg had been moved during the summer forty miles further away to a point on oreen dreen river opposite tie the mouth of white river in the s of 1883 tour four companies fir infantry under major I 1 De delussey DeRu asey were ordered to work mork on this road lor for a period of three months and by them the greater part of 0 the corduroy through the mountain parks was laid the abandonment of fort thornburg ind tho the establishment shortly at af cowards of rort duchesne DuChes nc forty miles west of the oreen green river made road no longer ne lessary and no further work on it a aj performed to the traveler who comes up upon 0 o n tills this road at any part of its course through the uintah range it seems to present an unusual example ot of wasted masted effort ard money but like many other of the works of man tt it wied its purpose u and gava way may to changes in the development of the country |