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JamesHolesAudio A radio play-style reading of a first-person account of James Holes’ first impressions of Fargo, May 1871. The excerpt is from a speech given at the Washington Club in 1916. Music by Mike and Zach. Zach Jendro, Digital History 2012

This is a copy of the agreement between Lena Kopelman and the Fargo Hebrew Congregation.  It was scanned from page 174 of “And Prairie Dogs Weren’t Kosher” by Linda Mack Schloff.  

This is a copy of the letter that the Secretary of State for North Dakota sent to Alex Stern confirming him as a trustee for the North Dakota Agricultural College.  This was scanned from records held in the NDSU archives and the information can be found here.   Heather Brinkman, Digital History 2012

This is a copy of a letter that Alex Stern sent out when he was running for president of  the city commission in Fargo.  This was scanned from the NDSU archives and the information on it can be found here. Heather Brinkman, Digital History 2012

Charles A. Roberts was a man who burned with the spirit of adventure. His family owned a meat market in Minneapolis, but butchering was not enough to satisfy Roberts. According to his obituary in the Fargo Forum, “Few men have crowded into one short lifetime more wide-flung activities, more romantic adventure, and more constructive effort than his venturesome pioneer spirit impelled him to undertake.” [1] Roberts was

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

The Roberts and Haggart families were twined together through marriage and business, and both clans featured prominently in the early history of Fargo. Brooks, Maine-native Samuel G. Roberts arrived in Cass County, North Dakota in January of 1872, making him one of the earliest settlers in the area. He had fought bravely in the Civil War in the Seventeenth Massachusetts Volunteers and the Ninth US Veteran Volunteers,

North Dakota Agriculture College (NDAC) was established in 1890, by a law that allowed for an agriculture college to be formed in Fargo, North Dakota . This was part of the United States government’s effort to create colleges for the study of agriculture and the sciences. The following appeared in the Daily Argus on May 2, 1890: “At the meeting of the Fargo Agricultural College board yesterday afternoon t

While there is little information on the Fargo Hebrew Congregation, it was the first Orthodox Jewish temple in Fargo. On July 6, 1886 William Giles, Abraham Rubel, and David Mezirow incorporated the temple, however it did not open its doors until 1906 and it took two years to complete the building.  The synagogue was built across from Island Park on First Street. Until it opened, the congregation held services in the

Alexander Stern (June 7, 1857-1934) Alex Stern was born on June 7, 1857 in Giessen, Germany.  He immigrated to the United states in 1871.  Mr. Stern arrived in Fargo in 1882 and opened the city’s first clothing store.  He is the first know Jewish person to land in Fargo.  On July 5, 1885 he married Bertha.  They had three sons: William, Samuel, and Edward. Mr. Stern was a very influential man during the foundin