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 expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

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]
  • Cass County established.
• January 5, 1875
  • Fargo incorporated in Dakota Territory.[2]
  • County courthouse built.[1]
• 1876 - Population: 600.[3]
• 1880
  • Fargo Daily Times newspaper begins publication.[4]
  • Population: 2,693.[1]
• 1889 - Town becomes part of the new U.S. state of North Dakota.
• 1890 - North Dakota Agricultural College opens.[5]
• 1891 - Concordia College founded in nearby Moorhead, Minnesota.
• 1893
  • June 7: Fire.[3]
  • Opera house built.[1]
• 1894 - Fargo Forum and Daily Republican newspaper in publication.[4]
• 1897 - North Dakota Harness Company in business.[6]
• 1898
  • Fargo Golf Club formed.
  • Fram Norwegian-language newspaper in publication.[4]
• 1899 - St. Mary's Cathedral built.[1]

20th century

• 1900 - Population: 9,589;[1] county 28,625.[7]
• 1903
  • Public Library built.[6]
  • St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran church founded.[1]
• 1904 - Fargo Street Railway begins operating.[6]
• 1906
  • State Fair begins.[6]
  • Grand Theater opens.[8]
• 1908 - St. Luke’s Hospital opens.
• 1912
  • April: Preacher Billy Sunday visits town.[6]
  • July: Sangerfest (song festival) held.[6]
• 1914 - Princess Theatre opens.[8]
• 1917
  • Woodrow Wilson High School established.
  • John Miller Baer becomes U.S. representative for North Dakota's 1st congressional district.[9]
• 1920
  • Pence Automobile Company Warehouse built.
  • Population: 21,961;[2] county 41,477.[7]
• 1922 - WDAY radio begins broadcasting.[1]
• 1926
  • June 26: Gustaf of Sweden visits town.[6]
  • Fargo Theatre built.
• 1927 - August 26: Charles Lindbergh visits town.[6]
• 1928 - Regan Brothers Bakery in business.[6]
• 1929 - Veterans' Hospital built.[1]
• 1930 - Post Office and Courthouse built.[1]
• 1931 - Fargo Civic Orchestra established.
• 1935 - Dovre Ski Slide erected.[1]
• 1939 - June: Olav of Norway visits town.[6]
• 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.[10]
• 1954 - Herschel Lashkowitz becomes mayor.
• 1957 - 1957 Fargo tornado.
• 1960 - North Dakota State University active.
• 1964 - Public educational KFME (TV) begins broadcasting.[11]
• 1966 - Fargo North High School and Daughters of Dakota Pioneers[12] established.
• 1969 - Red River Valley Genealogical Society founded.[13]
• 1970
  • Bison Sports Arena built.
  • Population: 53,365; county 73,653.[7]
• 1972 - West Acres Shopping Center in business.
• 1974 - Sister city relationship established with Hamar, Norway.[14]
• 1975 - Plains Art Museum founded.[13][11]
• 1978 - Jon Lindgren becomes mayor.
• 1983 - Greater Fargo-Moorhead Area Food Bank established.[15]
• 1986 - Hector Airport terminal built.[6]
• 1987 - Sister city relationship established with Vimmerby, Sweden.[14]
• 1990 - Historic Preservation Commission established.
• 1992 - Fargodome (stadium) opens.
• 1996
  • Sundog (company) in business.
  • Fictional Fargo film released.
• 1997 - April: 1997 Red River flood.
• 1998 - City website online (approximate date).[16]

21st century

• 2000 - Population: 90,599.[17]
• 2003 - Pride parade begins (approximate date).[18]
• 2004 - The Ed Schultz Show (radio program) begins broadcasting.
• 2006 - Dennis Walaker becomes mayor.[19]
• 2007 - Open magazine begins publication.
• 2009 - 2009 Red River flood.[20]
• 2010 - Population: 105,549.[21]
• 2013
  • Sanford Medical Center construction begins.
  • Kevin Cramer becomes U.S. representative for North Dakota's at-large congressional district.
• 2014 - Timothy Mahoney becomes mayor.

See also

• Fargo history
• List of mayors of Fargo, North Dakota
• Timeline of North Dakota[5]

References

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

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 – via Google Books. + 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

• 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).