One hundred years ago this week, the last concrete was poured for what would come to be known as the Buffalo Bill Dam.The North Fork dam, which created the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, was at one time the tallest concrete structure in the world. But, much more than that, it was then — and it remains now — the storage center of the life blood of the Big Horn Basin. The dam made Buffalo Bill's dream of irrigating the Basin come true — even though he never dreamed of a project of the dam's magnitude. And it was no easy task. Men toiled through sub-zero temperatures, against rock as solid as the dam itself, to create the structure. Some lost their lives — and many were maimed. Later, when the dam was raised in the 1980s and '90s, engineers enjoyed the luxury of heavy equipment and better technology, but there were the new challenges of keeping water and power flowing to those on the downhill side. In both cases, they persevered. Today, the fruits of this century-old labor are all around us. From Cody to Deaver, from Heart Mountain to the McCullough Peaks, the summertime landscape is a lush green where before it was desert, and the resulting crops are the heartbeat of the Basin's economy.

One hundred years ago this week, the last concrete was poured for what would come to be known as the Buffalo Bill Dam.

The North Fork dam, which created the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, was at one time the tallest concrete structure in the world. But, much more than that, it was then — and it remains now — the storage center of the life blood of the Big Horn Basin.

The dam made Buffalo Bill's dream of irrigating the Basin come true — even though he never dreamed of a project of the dam's magnitude.

And it was no easy task. Men toiled through sub-zero temperatures, against rock as solid as the dam itself, to create the structure. Some lost their lives — and many were maimed.

Later, when the dam was raised in the 1980s and '90s, engineers enjoyed the luxury of heavy equipment and better technology, but there were the new challenges of keeping water and power flowing to those on the downhill side.

In both cases, they persevered.

Today, the fruits of this century-old labor are all around us. From Cody to Deaver, from Heart Mountain to the McCullough Peaks, the summertime landscape is a lush green where before it was desert, and the resulting crops are the heartbeat of the Basin's economy.