 The dam is part of the Shoshone Project, successor to several visionary schemes promoted by Cody to irrigate the Bighorn Basin and turn it from a semi-arid sagebrush-covered plain to productive agricultural land.Known at the time of its construction as Shoshone Dam, it was renamed in 1946 to honor Cody.The high structure was designed by engineer Daniel Webster Cole and built between 1905 and 1910.