Timeline of Fargo, North Dakota

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Fargo, North Dakota, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 20th century

• 1670 – Rupert's Land, or Prince Rupert's Land, is a territory established in British North America comprising the Hudson Bay drainage basin.
• 1811 – The Selkirk Concession (a land grant issued by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) to Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk) begins the Red River Colony colonization project.
• 1871 – A.H. Moore's house (residence) built.^[1]
• 1873
  • Headquarters Hotel in business.^[1][2]
  • Cass County established.
• January 5, 1875
  • Fargo incorporated in Dakota Territory.^[3]
  • First Cass County Courthouse built.^[1][4]
• 1876 – Population: 600.^[5]
• 1880
  • Fargo Daily Times newspaper begins publication.^[6]
  • Population: 2,693.^[1]
• 1889 – Town becomes part of the new U.S. state of North Dakota.
• 1890 – North Dakota Agricultural College opens.^[7]
• 1891
  • North Dakota Agricultural College College Hall (Old Main) is built.
  • Concordia College founded in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota.
• 1893
  • June 7: Fire.^[5]
  • Mechanical Arts Building built on North Dakota Agricultural College campus.
  • Opera house built.^[1]
• 1894 – Fargo Forum and Daily Republican newspaper in publication.^[6]
• 1897 – North Dakota Harness Company in business.^[8]
• 1898
  • Fargo Golf Club formed.[1]
  • Fram Norwegian-language newspaper in publication.^[6]
  • Northern Pacific Railway Depot is built.
• 1899 – Cathedral of St. Mary built.^[1]

20th century

• 1900 – Population: 9,589;^[1] county 28,625.^[9]
• 1903
  • Public Library built.^[8]
  • St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church founded.^[1]
• 1904 – Fargo Street Railway begins operating.^[8]
• 1906
  • The Cass County Jail is built.^[10]
  • State Fair begins.^[8]
  • Grand Theater opens.^[11]
• 1908 – St. Luke's Hospital opens.
• 1912
  • April: Preacher Billy Sunday visits town.^[8]
  • July: Sangerfest (song festival) held.^[8]
• 1914 – Princess Theatre opens.^[11]
• 1915 – The Ford Building is built.^[12]
• 1917
  • Woodrow Wilson High School built and established.
  • John Miller Baer becomes U.S. representative for North Dakota's 1st congressional district.^[13]
• 1920
  • Pence Automobile Company Warehouse built.
  • Population: 21,961;^[3] county 41,477.^[9]
• 1922 – WDAY radio begins broadcasting.^[1]
• 1926
  • June 26: Gustaf of Sweden visits town.^[8]
  • Fargo Theatre built.
• 1927 – August 26: Charles Lindbergh visits town.^[8]
• 1928 – Regan Brothers Bakery in business.^[8]
• 1929 – Veterans' Hospital built.^[1]
• 1930 – Post Office and Courthouse built.^[1]
• 1931
  • Black Building in Downtown Fargo is built.
  • Fargo Civic Orchestra established.
• 1935 – Dovre Ski Slide erected.^[1]
• 1938 – Dacotah Field opens on the North Dakota State University campus.
• 1939 – June: Olav of Norway visits town.^[8]
• 1940 – November 7: Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live recorded.
• 1948
  • KFGO radio begins broadcasting.
  • American Crystal Sugar Company factory begins operating in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota.^[14]
• 1954 – Herschel Lashkowitz becomes mayor.
• 1955 – Dacotah Field is moved to the NDSU North Campus.
• 1957 – 1957 Fargo tornado.
• 1960 – North Dakota State University active.
• 1964 – Public educational KFME (TV) begins broadcasting.^[15]
• 1966 – Fargo North High School and Daughters of Dakota Pioneers^[16] established.
• 1969 – Red River Valley Genealogical Society founded.^[17]
• 1970
  • Bison Sports Arena built.
  • Population: 53,365; county 73,653.^[9]
• 1972 – West Acres Shopping Center in business.
• 1974 – Sister city relationship established with Hamar, Norway.^[18]
• 1975 – Plains Art Museum founded.^[17][15]
• 1978 – Jon Lindgren becomes mayor.
• 1983 – Greater Fargo-Moorhead Area Food Bank established.[2]^[19]
• 1986 – Hector Airport terminal built.^[8]
• 1987 – Sister city relationship established with Vimmerby, Sweden.^[18]
• 1990 – Historic Preservation Commission established.[3]
• 1992 – Fargodome stadium opens.
• 1996
  • Newman Outdoor Field opens.
  • Sundog company opened for business.
  • Fictional Fargo film released.
• 1997 – April: 1997 Red River flood.
• 1998 – City website online (approximate date).^{[20][chronology citation needed]}

21st century

• 2000 – Population: 90,599.^[21]
• 2004 – The Ed Schultz Show (radio program) begins broadcasting.
• 2006 – Dennis Walaker becomes mayor.^[22]
• 2007 – Open magazine begins publication.
• 2008 – Scheels Arena, initially known as "The Urban Plains Center" is built.
• 2009 – 2009 Red River flood.^[23]
• 2010 – Population: 105,549.^[24]
• 2013
  • Dakotah Field is renovated.
  • Sanford Medical Center construction begins.
  • Kevin Cramer becomes U.S. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district.
• 2014 – Tim Mahoney becomes mayor.
• 2016 – Bison Sports Arena is renovated and reopens as Scheels Center for the 2016-17 season.
• 2017 – Pride parade begins (approximate date).^[25]
• 2020 – RDO Building is built and becomes the tallest building in Fargo at 235 feet.
• 2021 – Woodrow Wilson High School renamed to "Dakota High School"^[26]
• 2023 – Lashkowitz High Rise is demolished.

See also

• Fargo history
• List of mayors of Fargo, North Dakota

References

1. Federal Writers' Project 1938: "Fargo"
2. "Headquarters Hotel". Library.NDSU.EDU. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
3. Wishart 2004.
4. "Cass County Courthouse". Library.NDSU.EDU. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
5. "Brief glimpse into Fargo's early history". City of Fargo. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
6. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
7. Federal Writers' Project 1938, p. 339: "Chronology"
8. NDSU Archives. "Fargo, North Dakota: its History and Images". North Dakota State University. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
9. "North Dakota: Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". Fargo city, North Dakota QuickLinks. State & County QuickFacts. US Census Bureau. 1995.
10. "Cass County Jail". Retrieved May 6, 2024.
11. "Movie Theaters in Fargo, ND". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
12. "Ford Building". Library.NDSU.EDU. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
13. "North Dakota". Official Congressional Directory: 65th Congress. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1918. hdl:2027/mdp.39015022758281.
14. "Historical Timeline". Moorhead, MN: American Crystal Sugar Company. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
15. Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei, ed. (9 May 2013). "Fargo, North Dakota". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
16. "Institute Finding Aids: Local and Ethnic History". Institute for Regional Studies Archives. Fargo: North Dakota State University, Libraries. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
17. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "North Dakota: Fargo". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0759100020.
18. "Fargo Sister Cities". City of Fargo. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
19. "North Dakota Food Banks". Food Bank Locator. Chicago: Feeding America. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
20. . Archived from the original on 1998-12-12 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
21. "Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000". Fargo city, North Dakota QuickLinks. State & County QuickFacts. US Census Bureau.
22. "Fargo, ND, mayor known for flood fights dies at 73". Washington Post. December 2, 2014. Archived from the original on December 3, 2014.
23. "Midwestern floods: Fargo's frantic efforts are the latest chapter in a long struggle". The Economist. April 2, 2009.
24. . State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
25. "Fargo's LGBT residents: 'Our marriage is not worth the paper it's written on". The Guardian. August 21, 2014.
26. Aupperle, Katherine (2020-12-08). "Woodrow Wilson High School renamed Dakota High School". Valley News Live. Retrieved 2021-12-21.

Bibliography

Published in the 20th century

• Federal Writers' Project (1938), "Fargo", North Dakota: a Guide to the Northern Prairie State, American Guide Series, State Historical Society of North Dakota, ISBN 9780403021833 – via Google Books{{citation}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link). + Chronology
• A Century Together: A History of Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo-Moorhead Centennial Corporation (1975)
• Fargo-Moorhead: A Guide to Historic Architecture, R. Ramsey (1975)
• Fargo's Heritage, N. Roberts (1983)
• History and Growth of the City of Fargo: Historic Context Study, by Tim Holzkamm and Dean Dormanen, 1993. Revised and edited by David Danbom, 2001.
• Crossings: A Photographic Document of Fargo, North Dakota, C. McMullen & D. Arntson, et al. (1995)

Published in the 21st century

• "Fargo, North Dakota", CMJ New Music Monthly, July 2000
• The History and Growth of the City of Fargo, T. Holzkamm & D. Dormanen; D. Danbom (2001)
• Fargo, North Dakota: From Frontier Village to All-America City, 1875–2000, Heritage Publications (2001)
• Images of America: Fargo, North Dakota 1870–1940, D. Danbom & C. Strom (2002)
• David J. Wishart, ed. (2004). "Cities and Towns: Fargo, North Dakota". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7.
• David B. Danbom (2005). Going it Alone: Fargo Grapples with the Great Depression. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-87351-546-7.
• Carroll L. Engelhardt (2007). Gateway to the Northern Plains: Railroads and the Birth of Fargo and Moorhead. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1-4529-1297-4.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fargo, North Dakota.

• John Caron (ed.). "Fargo, North Dakota: its History and Images". Fargo: North Dakota State University, Libraries.
• Items related to Fargo, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).