The town of Bridger is named after explorer Jim Bridger, who was one of the first white men to travel through this area and into Yellowstone National Park. The town was originally called Georgetown, after the coal mine that was started up by a man named George Town. Mining became extremely popular in this area, and another small community developed, and was called Stringtown. In 1864, Jim Bridger came through the area, leading a wagon train to the mining areas in Virginia City. On his way through, he led the train across the Clark’s Fork River-which they referred to as "Bridger’s Crossing." Eventually the name of the whole town was changed to Bridger.