A history of Fargo,
since 1871
Postcards, papers and photographs of Fargo from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Historically part of Sioux (Dakota) territory, the area that is present-day Fargo was an early stopping point for steamboats traversing the Red River during the 1870s and 1880s. The city was originally named "Centralia", but was later renamed "Fargo" after Northern Pacific Railway director and Wells Fargo Express Company founder William Fargo (1818–1881). During the initial settlement of Fargo, there developed two cities: one (unofficially) called "Fargo on the Prairie" and the other "Fargo in the Timber". "Fargo on the Prairie" was known for being well run by Northern Pacific engineers, while "Fargo in the Timber" remained mostly lawless and full of apparently "desperate and reckless characters", according to The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. Eventually, "Fargo in the Timber" would see its demise after a crackdown by federal authorities, and the modern Fargo would develop out of "Fargo on t…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Fargo’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewBird's eye view of Fargo, Dakota, c. 1876: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Fargo
See all 63 →
Fargo, decade by decade
CommonsColored Man's Plea1900
CommonsMasonic Temple in Fargo, N.D., circa 1900c. 1900
LOCBroadway looking north1909
LOCFargo Mercantile Co1909![Campus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/12807/0684c993948e9519767d-s.jpg)
LOCCampus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]1909![Campus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/12807/d422d9193e952ede304c-s.jpg)
LOCCampus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]1909![Campus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/12807/a660743cdf519ea8d009-s.jpg)
LOCCampus, N.D.A.C. [North Dakota Agricultural College]19091990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Bird's eye view of Fargo, Dakota (c. 1876) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (5) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.