Under the Ice

Once upon a time there was a small community called Marquette located in the basin where the North Fork and the South Fork of the Shoshone River met. It was also known as “Poverty Flats”, with a primitive log school house, general store, a few bunkhouses for travelers, and tents all around for laborers working on irrigation projects. There was also a local log saloon with a sign reading, “Irrigation Department”, a welcomed meeting place of sorts.

Photo Courtesy of Park County Archives

Although this was a small community it was home and a way of life to homesteaders, farmers and families who were working to make their ground agriculturally sound.

Photo Courtesy of Park County Archives

The Federal government bought the land and completed a project to allow irrigation for farmland downstream in 1910, flooding the area we now know as the Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir.

Photo Courtesy of Park County Archives

When you are driving up North Fork of the Shoshone River, going to Yellowstone in May through September, stop at the Buffalo Bill Dam and Visitors Center at 4808 N Fork Hwy. https://bbdvc.com/ You can’t miss it. After passing through the three tunnels leaving Cody, you will turn left into the parking area.

Photo Courtesy of Park County Archives

There you will learn the history of the building of the first dam in the United States which was a fascinating accomplished in only six years. 

Photo Courtesy of Park County Archives

Look out across the reservoir and imagine what lies beneath the water, the ghost town of MARQUETTE. For more information about the site of Marquette, visit the Park County Historical Archives in the Library or visit https://parkcounty-wy.gov/historical-archives/