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Lena Bertha Kopelman April 29, 1869 – December 3, 1947   “My mother… [was] a wig maker and maker of hair switches and other hair goods. [She] taught us all how to weave human hair and we became  fairly adept at it, but we could never make our fingers fly like our mother did… Kopelman’s Beauty Shop was one of the very first beauty shops in Fargo… Rose, Dorothy and I helped to make the shop

The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society was founded on August 13, 1904.[1]  It was created in order to help the people of the Jewish community and fulfill the responsibility to the Jewish community.  They helped the community by financing the community businesses, educate the children, and perform other acts of civil service.  Below is Linda Mack Schloff’s recount of their purpose. Rochele Gela Mann recalled the efforts

The first Jewish immigrants into Fargo were part of the middle and upper classes of Germany.  They were formally educated.  The main reason for immigrating to the United States was to escape persecution and violent attacks that their homelands ignored and in some cases encouraged.  After the town started to solidify, many unsuccessful farmers from North Dakota and Minnesota sought refuge in Fargo.  In addition to the

Listen to Ms. Woodward, as narrated by Dr. Ineke Justitz, by clicking the play button below. Mary Dodge Woodward speaks Mary Dodge Woodward was well informed for someone living in the isolated Dakota territory. In the two excerpts read by Dr. Justitz, Mary discusses the weather in the Dakota territory and the surrounding environment as well as solicitations and politics. She mentions the grain elevators resembling Ba

Fargo’s First Christmas Tree   In 1873 the people of Fargo went to church services in Moorhead as a church had not been established.  As the people of Fargo believed that the Christmas tree being planned for in Moorhead was more for the children of that church they decided to have their own.  Two trees were sent for but were stolen mid route.  It was decided that the men from Moorhead that were suspected o

Railroad: The First Industry in Fargo   [1]                                                             [3]         When the N.P.R.R. crossed the Red River in 1871the city of Fargo was formed. The railroad fueled the city, bringing in large numbers of people and along with the people came the need for industry. Fargo grew around the railroad tracks as is visible in the above 1880 photograph.

A very important figure in Fargo’s history is Mr. Jasper J. Chapin, who some call the “Father of Fargo”.  Chapin was born in a New York, where he worked on a farm in his town after he finished schooling.  In 1852 he left New York and headed out west to strike it rich in a mining town in California. He stayed in California for two and a half years, then moved back to New York. Unable to handle the quiet life of the fa

  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

In 2007, the Fargo Forum asked a five person panel of local historians to name the five most influential individuals in the history of Fargo-Moorhead. At the top of the list was Alexander Stern.[1]Originally from Germany, Stern moved to Fargo in 1881, and started his career in Fargo as a local retailer by opening a clothing store. In 1885, he moved this clothing store to the corner of Broadway and N. P. Avenue. He wa

O.J. deLendrecie was born in Canada and worked all around the world before coming to Fargo in 1879. He built the Chicago Dry Goods House, which did an amazing business. He owned a good amount of land around the city.  On the night of November 24th, 1893 a blaze started in Holzer’s Cigar store in the back of the Park Hotel. One of the townsfolk was walking by when he discovered the flames in the back of the store. He