Where WasAmerican PrimevalFilmed? All About the Real Locations Behind the Western Series

Mar. 15, 2025

Episode 102 of ‘American Primeval’.

The plot ofAmerican Primevalmay be violent and harsh — but the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.

Set in the Wild West during the 1850s, the Netflix historical drama starringTaylor KitschandBetty Gilpinretells the real-life massacre of over 120 settlers at the hands of a Mormon and Native American army. Caught in the middle of the fight to gain control of the American West is Sara Rowell (Gilpin), a mother whose only goals are to get her son safely across the frontier — and flee from her dark past.

In these lawless parts, other humans (particularly the Mormon militia intent on defending their way of life) are the primary predators. But the land itself is just as cruel, as the actors and crew can attest. Snow, rain, thunder, lighting and rattlesnakes were common sights in the remote mountains where the limited series was filmed.

“When you’re on hour 15 of shooting, and you’re freezing, and you’re beyond exhausted, it all comes into play,” Kitsch toldTudumin January 2025. “There’s nothing better than shooting on location. I loved it.”

So, where wasAmerican Primevalfilmed? Read on to learn more about the show’s shooting locations and the real historical sites that inspired them.

WasAmerican Primevalfilmed in Utah?

Joe Tippett as James Wolsey, Lucas Neff as Dellinger and Kip Weeks as Pepper in Episode 103 of ‘American Primeval’.Matt Kennedy/Netflix©

Joe Tippett as James Wolsey, Lucas Neff as Dellinger and Kip Weeks as Pepper in Episode 103 of ‘American Primeval’.

Matt Kennedy/Netflix©

Though most ofAmerican Primeval’s story is fictionalized, the mass murder of travelers is a real event that happened in 1857 during a year-long battle for control over the Utah Territory.

During that period, the area covered all of present-day Utah and parts of Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming, per theU.S. Census. The real location of the massacre was in an area called Mountain Meadow, which is in present-day Washington County, Utah.

Despite the Mountain Meadow Massacre inspiringAmerican Primeval, none of the above states served as the filming location for thisPeter Berg-directed miniseries. Instead, the Western was shot in New Mexico, which is home to a similar landscape and weather patterns that the real settlers would have experienced.

Where wasAmerican Primevalfilmed?

Betty Gilpin as Sara Rowell in Episode 101 of' American Primeval'.

“When I saw it as a kid, I felt like I was in it,” the director said. “I was in the elements … just surviving, and I always wanted to do something like that.”

Some of the filming also took place in the New Mexico mountains. The area was so remote that the crew often didn’t have Wi-Fi or cell service — something Gilpin, who most recently starred in the Peacock sci-fi seriesMrs. Davis, wasn’t ready for.

“I’m used to controlled soundstage environments,” the actress told Tudum. “Because we were out in the New Mexican elements, the weather one second looked like Palm Springs, and the next second looked like we were in a hurricane. But Pete Berg just rolled with it.”

Gilpin continued, “It felt very collaborative, and it felt like going back to acting school almost, where you really had to think on your toes and be ready for anything.”

Scenes fromAmerican Primevalwere also shot atBonanza Creek Ranch, an 1880s mining-town-turned-movie-set in New Mexico where a long list of other notable projects have been filmed, including the 2007 version of3:10 to Yuma,Django UnchainedandDark Winds.

Is Fort Bridger real?

Episode 104 of ‘American Primeval’.

“It became like a small village,” theSpenser Confidentialdirector told Tudum of recreating the site. “We had shops, and we had a dentist and a doctor, and baths and things that were accurate to that time period. Fort Bridger took on a life of its own.”

The realFort Bridgersite was dedicated as a Wyoming Historical Landmark and Museum in 1933 and can still be visited today.

source: people.com

Where WasAmerican PrimevalFilmed? All About the Real Locations Behind the Western Series

WasAmerican Primevalfilmed in Utah?

Where wasAmerican Primevalfilmed?

Is Fort Bridger real?

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