On August 18th I’m going to have a great dam day. That’s when the Buffalo Bill Dam & Visitor Center will stage its annual “Great Dam Day,” a celebration of one of the most extraordinary engineering accomplishments in the West. The free event includes a hike down the “old dam road,” kids events and interpretive information on display in the visitor center.
I try to always participate in this fun celebration, as it reminds me of the extraordinary accomplishments and uncommon determination of our town’s founder, Buffalo Bill Cody.
Corrie will be participating in the annual Great Dam Day to celebrate the town of Cody’s showcase Buffalo Bill Dam. Photos courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Dam & Visitor Center.
Not only was he a world-renowned showman, Buffalo Bill possessed unusual logistical abilities and the brain of an engineer. When he selected a barren, windswept region of northwestern Wyoming for the namesake town he would develop, Cody knew that its success would depend on the most valuable resource in the American West: water.
Buffalo Bill wanted his town to become the tourism mecca that it is, and he knew that a dependable water source was essential not only for residents and visitors but also for the increasing numbers of ranchers – including operators of guest and dude ranches – who were staking their fortunes on the success of the region.
In keeping with his reputation, Buffalo Bill thought big. For funding and construction, town leaders tapped the newly available resources from the Bureau of Reclamation, an infrastructure initiative begun by the federal government that developed storage and irrigation projects to help settlers maximize water availability, particularly during dry periods. The Shoshone Dam was the first of three major dam projects undertaken by the Bureau.
Initially called the Shoshone Dam, the structure is nestled between canyon walls that tower above the Shoshone River.
In 1905, four years after he founded the town of Cody 52 miles east of Yellowstone National Park, construction began on the Shoshone Dam. When town leaders and the Bureau opened the dam in 1910, the world marveled at the engineering accomplishment. At 328 feet high and 200 feet long, it was the highest dam in the world. It was completed at a cost of $929,658. The dam was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and in 1993 the dam embarked on an eight-year modification project that added 25 feet to the height of the dam, for a modern-day total of 353 feet high.
The dam created the massive Buffalo Bill Reservoir, a recreational haven for anglers, hikers, boaters and campers and a popular hangout for wildlife.
Even though dozens of dams worldwide have surpassed that height, I remain in awe of the accomplishment made more than a century ago. Thanks to a founder who thought big, the town of Cody has experienced prominence and prosperity in a once-arid region of the West.
Until next time, I’m loving life – and prepping for a great dam day – here in Cody Yellowstone Country.
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