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The Cass County Courthouse, a far cry from the first courthouse building in 1877, exemplified the determination of the citizens of Fargo and the vast progress they made in less than two decades in often-harsh Northern Plains environment. Against many odds, buildings like the renovated courthouse provide additional testaments to the peoples’ determination and successful transformation of a vast prairie into a sovereig

Wood continued to provide the framework for more and more business buildings in downtown Fargo and it was not without its merits for other building or business endeavors. However, a majority of the post-fire structures shifted toward predominantly brick or stone constructions.  At the same time, technological advances allowed for increased sophistication and more architecturally sound developments for new commercial

As the ruins of the city smoldered and with distinguishing resolve, Alexander Stern, along with others, hauled lumber onto the scorched earth and began rebuilding immediately to get the businesses up and running with minimal delay.  Within the succeeding year, Stern’s group managed to reestablish 246 buildings at the cost of $968,000 and encourage ongoing reconstruction throughout the devastated districts.  In fact,

Wood construction and row developments proved accessible and resourceful for getting Fargo’s business community off the ground, but by the end of the day on June 7, 1893, fire consumed the buildings and businesses on about  160 acres in the center of the city’s thriving  prairie metropolis. As various policy holders claimed $1.7 million from insurance, the net loss on the property insured was $435,000 thousand  and t

In the first decade of Fargo’s settlement,  concerns for sanitation and waste management quickly rose to the forefront of city operations. As an infrastructure  developed, the need for  a sewage system for Fargo was clear and the city council investigated the system and its cost.  On  January 13, 1881, council members solicited city engineers for a sewage system that best met the needs of the flat city. On Sept

In an effort to expand the prospects of Fargo’s increasing community, Fargo City Council Members gave H.C. Shoen, E.C. Eddy, and others the city’s first telephone franchise on January 7, 1880.  A year later, Fargo and Moorhead Telephone Exchange began erecting poles for doing general phone business.  Twenty years later, Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company fitted the city with metallic circuit long distance transm

After Mayor George Egbert authorized a $44 payment to Cass Lamp Works on December 5, 1879, the first kerosene lamps soon appeared on the streets of Fargo. Police officers were authorized to ensure the street lamps were in proper working order and purchased barrels of oil so the night police units could fill and light the lamps and extinguish them in the morning.[1] By October 7, 1881, the Gas Light and Fuel Company b

 The Anson Northop was the first boat on the Red River, but the Alsop was among the first boats doing business on the river during the early boom days of Fargo’s infancy.  Likewise, lumberyards and granaries erected near the river or on its banks facilitated efficient transfer of goods and services arriving and departing along the Red River and accommodated around 300 railroad car loads of lumber and tons of refined

Even in 1876, Fargo’s first post office, although small, was well-fitted to serve the citizens, conveniently located next to the bank, and marked another step towards Fargo becoming a city unto itself.  By 1883, the town had grown enough that The Fargo City Council resolved to begin mail delivery in Fargo.  Seven years later, they began petitioning Representative Hansbrough and Senator Pierce to fund a $250,000 publi

Row construction allowed for quick and efficient “business-raising” where new enterprises could be in operation seemingly overnight and able to accommodate nearly any kind of commercial business imaginable. With easy and convenient access, the arrival of business set an elevated standard operating procedure for additional expansion and inclusion of new business and industry. -Stacy M. Reikowsky, Digital History 2012