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Sidewalks were one of the important issues at the top of the “to-do” list that the Fargo City Council had to stay on top of. Wet weather and sticky North Dakota clay played an important role in the urgency of addressing this issue. Most sidewalks were six feet wide, but streets like Broadway, Northern Pacific Avenue, as well as other streets with heavy foot traffic were equipped with ten-foot sidewalks.[1] In 1875 th

In 1878, Henry Hector, just 17 years old, arrived in the Fargo-Moorhead area at the request of his brother Martin and started a grocery business.[1] He lost his store to a fire in 1882, but successfully rebuilt and continued his business.  He served as the president of the Continental Hose Company and represented the Second Ward on the city council. Henry married the sister of his brother’s wife, Mary Paulson. Henry

The S.G. Roberts house, which was built in 1880, was originally located on Roberts Street between Second and Third Avenues. In the Summer of 1920, the home was relocated to its present location on South Eight Street. The story of how and why it was moved is relayed to us in a 1966 letter from Gilbert Haggart, who lived in the house for many years. “In 1920, street cars past the house (were) continuously pounding and

  Shanties were the next standard of living for small-scale farmers in the Red River Valley area. Claim shanties were also a new trend in living structures because they were essentially mobile homes. Because of their mobility, settlers would be able to live for an extended period of time to claim land and move to claim more when they had reached the time limit. Because the railroad reached the settlers on a freq

Tent cities traveled with the railroad because they were easy to assemble and could be moved quickly as the railroad developed. They existed because of the construction of the railroad and the building of the city of Fargo. The men that stayed in these cities were accustomed to hard living conditions, as tents did not keep heat very well in the cold area of Fargo. The men that resided in these tents were originally l

While large-scale farming was the major goal of the Northern Pacific Railroad and its successors, small scale-farming was in full swing. Immigrants and settlers from other parts of the Eastern United States moved westward to claim land along the Northern Pacific way. Many of the smaller farmers who came to the Red River Valley claimed land and built sod homes. Resources in the Red River Valley were sparse on the open

One of Fargo’s grandest old homes, the Charles Roberts House was built in 1884, anchoring the north end of the historic South Eighth Street district. It is an enormous dwelling: it features over 20 rooms and measures in at well over 7,000 square feet. It has a carriage house and a large, picturesque yard. According to architectural historian Ron Ramsey, the Roberts Home is a “truly exuberant piece of architecture, th

The James Holes House is built in a style that was popular in the 1870’s called Italianate, which drew inspiration from late-16th century Italian architecture. The October 11, 1879 Fargo Times had a detailed write-up about the home, as its grandeur surely was a novelty to the some of the rough-hewn settlers of the prairie.  “One of the handsomest and most conveniently arranged residences in Dakota Territory. Th

The James Holes house is one of the oldest buildings in Fargo to be standing in its original location. Built in 1879, the home attracted considerable attention due to its size and quality of construction. At the time it was built, the house was approximately one mile north of town.  The 1880 City Directory lists the address as “Broadway. North of city limits.” It was surrounded by a healthy wheat field, dotted with b

Two men, Andrew Henry Moore and George Mann, decided to take a chance in Dakota Territory in 1869. They left from Waupum, Wisconsin, and arrived in the Red River Valley the same year. Upon their arrival, all that stood in what would be known as Fargo was a small city of tents occupied by Northern Pacific Railroad personnel and a few soldiers. Fortunately, Mann had experience in carpentry work and it is assumed that h