BRIDGER — It is nearly impossible to travel far across Bridger’s 500 acres, but it does not take long to find something worth exploring.
"Even when I was little, there were some old log cabins that were built along (this area)," said Dana Zier, a former art history professor who now runs an art studio out of a historic Bridger building.
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Alongside her work, she exists not just in the past, but for it.
"I started with my great-great-grandpa," said Zier. "I guess I think about who lived there, and what they did, and how they existed."
Zier is not alone in her devotion to the town’s heritage. In this community of around 850 people, as many as 30 to 40 residents are actively involved in preserving local history.
The Bridger Historical Society has been working to restore historic sites, including an old stagecoach station with the help of the Bridger Beautification Project.
The stagecoach station, not too long ago, stood across the street from its current location.
"We put it on the poles and rolled it a little bit at a time, hopscotched the poles to the front until it was over here," said Tom Mudd, who planned the move. "I think it is pretty cool."
Along with its new address, the building and its surrounding pavement are getting a facelift, thanks to grants, hundreds of volunteer hours, and donations from the community.
"I think they look really pretty. They came out really good," said Richard Newton, who laid the new bricks.
Residents are mindful of the hardships their forerunners endured. As modern-day Bridger restores the remnants of its frontier past, it also reflects on the resilience those early settlers showed.
"People were really poor," said Zier. "They did not have insulation. They would layer the walls with newspaper and glue it, and sometimes paint over it."
Monday, those whose family histories are literally the foundations they stood on said they wonder what future generations will think of them.
"I think they will think that we were probably pretty spoiled," said Peach Weiss. "I think we are pretty spoiled and I am grateful every day."
The Bridger Historical Society said it is always seeking donors for its current and future projects.
