The city of Fargo was founded by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1871 in expectation of the railroad track to be built across the Red River of the North. This particular location was selected as a safeguard against flooding because it represented the highest point on the river. The city was named for William G. Fargo, founder of the Wells-Fargo Express Company and a director of the Northern Pacific Railway. When the railroad announced in 1871 that a track would be laid from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean, land speculators sought to capitalize on the opportunity. Thus ensued attempts on the part of both the railroad and the speculators to outwit one another and to gain first possession of the land. For a time the railroad staked a claim but after much litigation decided to withdraw.
During the winter of 1871 to 1872, the settlement was divided into two distinct communities. One of them, "Fargo on the Prairie," became headquarters of the Northern Pacific engineers and their families. Although they lived in tents, the accommodations were the best available given the conditions. The other, "Fargo in the Timber," was much cruder and more primitive, consisting of huts, log houses, dugouts, and riverbank caves. The Timber community became known for its hard-drinking, gun-carrying men who had a rough sense of humor and enjoyed practical jokes. A delivery of potatoes to the Prairie community was once sabotaged by the Timber men, who loosened the wagon endgates and shot their guns to scare the horses. The potatoes that spilled onto the ground turned out to be the only supply available for the winter.
Fargo was located in what was still legally Native American territory, and the railroad company claimed the Timber residents were illegal squatters on Native American land and were selling illegal liquor. In February of 1872, federal troops surrounded the Timber settlement, issuing warrants for the arrest of those accused of selling liquor and ordering the others to leave under threat of destruction of their crude homes. The settlers appealed to the government, claiming their land rights had been violated. A treaty was negotiated with the native tribes that opened the land to settlement and those who had not broken the law were able to retain their land.
Law and order followed with the arrival of new settlers on the first train of the Northern Pacific to cross the Red River on June of 1872. Soon residents were surprised to learn that Fargo was situated on rich wheat land. With the reduction of freight rates in 1873, farming became economically profitable and the town prospered. Two decades later Fargo suffered a severe fire, which began on one of the main streets and consumed the entire business district as well as the northwestern sector. This tragedy led to many civic improvements and put an end to wood construction.
Near disaster struck again four years later, when the Red River, dammed by ice north of Fargo, began rising. It continued to rise for a week; in order to save the railroad bridges, locomotive and threshing machines were placed on them. Citizens were forced to evacuate through second-story windows, and the flood carried away 18 blocks of sidewalk and 20 blocks of wooden street paving.
During the first 30 years of the twentieth century, Fargo prospered from an influx of Norwegian immigrants who were attracted by the promise of a better life and a free farm. Fleeing economic depression in their own country, they introduced their customs to the upper Red River Valley, thus helping to shape the character of present-day Fargo. The city remains an important agricultural center as well as a regional distribution and transportation hub.
Due to its affordable housing, workforce availability, high standards of living and education, and low unemployment rate, in 2004 Expansion Management magazine awarded Fargo a "Five Star Community" rating in its annual "Quality of Life Quotient."
Historical Information: North Dakota State University Library, North Dakota Historical Manuscript, Photograph, and Book Collection, 1301 12th Ave. N., PO Box 5599, Fargo, ND 58105; telephone (710)231-8886