Cody, located in the northwest corner of the Big Horn Basin, was founded in 1896 by William Cody. The town, settled late in the westward expansion, was named after the famous Old West personality whose bison hunting and expert marksmanship earned him the nickname “Buffalo Bill.”

Water has always played a key role in the development of these arid lands. In the early 1900s the foundation was laid for several irrigation projects, including the Buffalo Bill Dam, which stimulated regional development. Oil was discovered nearby in 1904 and the quest for gold brought more settlers. One of the biggest draws for new residents, though, was Bill Cody’s Wild West Show where the showman enticed travelers to head west for the iconic cowboy lifestyle.

Before Bill Cody and his followers filled the area, Native Americans, fur trappers and mountain men roamed this rugged land. In 1807, John Colter, fresh from the Lewis and Clark expedition, stumbled upon a land where “hot water shoots straight into the air, the earth bubbles as if it were boiling, and almost extinct geysers thunder as if possessed by angry spirits.” It may sound like Yellowstone, but Colter’s thermal discovery was actually located at the western edge of Cody in a spot known today as Colter’s Hell. Once a popular public soaking spot, it is now privately owned.