In most of the summer of 1894, the Snake River shifted north and bypassed the South Channel, or Dry Bed, leaving canals along that route without water. To supply water to the Upper Snake River Valley, the Great Feeder Headgate and Canal were built in 1894 and 1895. The system included twenty major canals and ditches delivering irrigation water for one hundred thousands acres of farmland. Men using teams of horses dug the Great Feeder and closed off other channels. An entire small mountain, known as Kelley Rock and located east of Heise Hot Springs, was used in constructing this huge dam. Located five miles northeast of Ririe, the Great Feeder was dedicated June 22, 1895. The Dry Bed supplies many irrigation ditches between the Great Feeder and the town of Roberts, where it again joins the Snake River. Because of the Great Feeder, the city of Ririe became an important grain and potato center.