One of the first projects for the soldiers who arrived to build Fort Buford in 1866 was a sawmill, and by June 1866 it was operating to provide sawn planks for the fort’s construction. The sawmill was moved to different locations over the years. Water, a vitally important resource for a large military post, was first brought into the fort from the river by wagon. An underground water system was begun in 1885 and completed with the addition of a water tower in 1889, and this system served the fort for the rest of its history. Fort Buford’s position at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers tied it to river transportation, and along the river terrace the steamboat landing received supplies and material for the quartermaster warehouses. On July 4, 1876, the steamboat Far West stopped briefly there with news of the defeat of the Seventh Cavalry at the Little Bighorn, making Fort Buford the first U.S. Army post to learn of the tragedy. After the Great Northern Railroad was completed to the West Coast in 1889, steamboat traffic began a steady decline.