O. J. deLandrecie
Onesine Joassin deLandrecie, whose name spelt “deLendrecie’s” still shines on the 600 block of Fargo’s Main Avenue. When the name change occurred is unclear, but in later documents Onesine Joassin’s last name changed the spelling to an “e” rather than an “a.” O.J. deLendrecie was the original owner of the deLendrecie’s department store, which was once a cornerstone of Fargo. He was born in Quebec, Canada, on December 11th, 1845. His family ancestry is from northern France. During the summer of 1879 he moved to Fargo and on his very first day in town he bought the land at 618 Front Street, or today’s Main Avenue. In October he opened his business. [i]
The first store was a small, wood building called the Chicago Dry Goods store. His brother, Eugene J. deLendrecie, joined him on his business venture. O. J. deLendrecie along with being an astute business man was also a great milliner, or hat maker. In the 1881 Fargo directory he was advertised as having “a fine and tasty selection of hats.” The store sold a wide variety of goods and the business grew quickly. In 1894 O.J. deLendrecie had the customer demand and the means to expand his business. He purchased the lots west of his first store and built a brick building. The brick structure was conveniently more fire resistant, which was an attractive quality following The Great Fire that occurred just the year before. O.J. deLendrecie advertised his new store as the “Mammoth Department Store.”[ii]
In 1914 O.J deLendrecie retired and his brother Eugene deLendrecie, who was vice president of the business took over the store. O.J. deLendrecie moved to California and died ten years later in 1924.
[i]Halgrimson, Andrea. “As I Recall: DeLendrecies building has a rich history.” Inforum, July 17, 2004
[ii]NDSU Archives. “deLendrecie’s” https://library.ndsu.edu/fargo-history/.
