Alexander Griggs

Alexander Griggs (1838–1903) was an American steamboat captain and politician. He is acknowledged as the founder of the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota and is called "The Father of Grand Forks."[1] Griggs is also the namesake of Griggs County, North Dakota.[2]

Alexander Griggs
Mayor of Grand Forks
In office
1888–1889
Personal details
BornOctober 27, 1838
Marietta, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJanuary 26, 1903 (aged 65)
Wenatchee, Washington, U.S.

Early life

Griggs was born on October 27, 1838 in Marietta, Ohio. As a child, Griggs and his family moved to Beetown, Wisconsin and Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he began working on a steamboat.[3]

Career

He first traveled to the confluence of the Red River of the North and the Red Lake River (the site of present-day Grand Forks) in 1870 using flatboats to carry cargo downstream on the Red River of the North.[4] During the fall of 1870, Griggs and his crew embarked on another such trip through the confluence area, but were stranded when their boat froze in the icy waters of the Red River one evening. The crew built a small cabin and lived there during the winter of 1870–1871.[4] They soon decided that the area would be a good spot for a new town. Others soon joined Griggs at the site and the community of Grand Forks was formed. Griggs officially platted the town site of Grand Forks in 1875.[4]

He also became the fifth mayor of Grand Forks, serving from 1888 to 1889.[1] Griggs was also the city’s third postmaster, served on the Grand Forks City Council, as a Grand Forks County Commissioner, on the North Dakota state constitutional convention, and as chair of the territorial Board of Railroad Commissioners. In addition, he founded the Second National Bank, established a gas works, built the Grand Forks Roller Mill, constructed the first brick commercial building in Grand Forks, and opened a hotel (the Grigg House). A statue of Griggs sits on the grounds of the Grand Forks County Courthouse.[5]

Death

Griggs died on January 26, 1903 in Wenatchee, Washington.[6]

Notes
  1. "Grand Forks History". City of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  2. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 145.
  3. "Alexander D. Griggs". Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  4. "Historic Grand Forks". Grand Forks County Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  5. "Dimensions - March 2005". University of North Dakota. Archived from the original on 2007-02-08. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  6. "Alexander D. Griggs". Retrieved 2020-06-30.
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Preceded by
D.M. Holmes		 Mayor of Grand Forks
1888–1889		 Succeeded by
H.L. Whithed


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