Begun in adversity, Grand Coulee Dam stood during war as a sentinel of strength safeguarding the nation and, in peace, became a key to new American frontiers of opportunity in agriculture and industry. Conceived and advanced by the people of the State of Washington, it was constructed by the United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation. Its construction extended from 1933 to 1950, spanning the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, from 1933 to 1945, and Harry S. Truman, from 1945 to 1953, with leadership by Secretaries of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, Julius A. Krug, and Oscar L. Chapman; Commissioners of Reclamation Elwood Mead, John O. Page, Harry W. Bashore, and Michael W. Straus; Chief Engineers Raymond F. Walter, Sinclair O. Harper, Walker R. Young, and Leslie N. McClellan; Regional Directors and Supervising Engineer Frank A. Banks, Regional Director Robert J. Newell, Regional Director Harold T. Nelson, and Construction Engineer Alvin F. Darland. It was dedicated in 1950.