Last updated: June 27, 2026
Place
Reshaw's Bridge
Photo/L. Kreutzer
Quick Facts
Location:
A replica of Reshaw’s Bridge is at Reshaw Parks, Platte Park Rd at Evansville, WY. GPS 42.8701 -106.2671
Significance:
Reshaw’s toll bridge carried wagon traffic bound for Oregon and California across the North Platte River in 1853-1866. Reshaw’s was the primary crossing of the North Platte until Guinard’s Bridge was built near Ft. Caspar in 1859.
Designation:
Historic site on the California and Oregon National Historic Trails.
Amenities
7 listed
Accessible Sites, Benches/Seating, Grill, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Picnic Shelter/Pavilion, Picnic Table
Emigrants, wagons, and livestock could ford or ferry the North Platte River at several places near present-day Casper, WY, but the crossings could be treacherous. In the spring and early summer, mountain runoff caused the river to rise, with cold, swift currents that could sweep away wagons, riders, and livestock. Trader John Baptiste Richard—English-speakers heard his name as “Reshaw”—identified a need and an opportunity.
In 1852, he and several partners began work on the first permanent bridge across the North Platte a short distance above a popular ford known as California Crossing. Other bridges lasted until spring floods washed them away, but “Reshaw’s Bridge” was engineered to stand fast. When the workers were finished, a tightly fitted deck of 4-inch-thick planks stretched 1,000 feet across the river, supported by heavy logs and sturdy, braced piers filled with rock. It was a toll bridge, as the partners needed to recoup costs and earn a profit, and the toll varied according to demand.
In spring 1853, when deep, swift currents roiled over the fords, emigrants paid as much as $8—about $332 in 2025 dollars—per wagon to cross Reshaw’s Bridge. As summer progressed, the river calmed and more emigrants chose to cross at the fords, so the partners reduced the bridge toll to attract more customers. It wasn’t a swindle, as outraged emigrants might accuse; it was simply smart business. More enterprises, including a trading post operated by Richard (who bought out his partners’ interest in the bridge), sprang up on both sides of the busy bridge.
Reshaw’s Bridge served tens of thousands of travelers over 13 years. In 1865 Richard relocated 100 miles south, hiring seasonal traders to operate the toll bridge and trading post over the summer. During the severe winter of 1865-1866, soldiers from Fort Casper, about 6 miles upstream at present-day Casper, tore down the bridge and nearby buildings for firewood, but by then alternative routes and crossings—including Guinard’s Bridge at Fort Casper—had become available. A partial reconstruction of Reshaw’s Bridge is found today in Evansville, WY, along the river near the original historic location, and a related exhibit is offered at the Evansville Community Center at 72 Curtis Street.
Site Information
Location (A replica of Reshaw’s Bridge is at Reshaw Parks, Platte Park Rd at Evansville, WY. GPS 42.8701 -106.2671)