Buffalo Bill Cody was one of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, mostly known for the shows he organized with cowboy themes. He once owned some of the land that is now part of the state park bearing his name. He sold his property to the United States government prior to the construction of Buffalo Bill Dam. Cody settled in the Shoshone Canyon area in the 1870s. He first came to the region as a guide for a survey expedition. Cody spent parts the next twenty years in the area serving as a hunting guide. Buffalo Bill worked to bring irrigation and agriculture development in Park County. He founded the nearby city of Cody in 1896.[4]
In addition to providing water for irrigation and downstream flood control, Buffalo Bill Dam provides hydropower for a power plant. The first and second units of the power plant were constructed in 1922. A third unit was built in 1931. Units one and two were decommissioned in 1980 and unit three was replaced in 1991.[8]
The park was established in 1957 and rebuilt in 1993 after an eight-year project to increase the height of the dam by 25 feet (7.6 m). The original park facilities were flooded when the dam was raised and the reservoir was deepened and widened. The project added 260,000 acre-feet (320,000,000 m3) to the area of the lake. A visitors center at the dam was opened upon completion of the heightening of the dam. Further modifications to the dam included an expansion of the underground spillway and addition of gates to the spillway for flow control.[9]
The park's picnicking facilities and fencing were improved in 2007 by the Wyoming Conservation Corps.[10]
