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Early Fargo and Alcohol

During the 19th century, the battle over alcoholic beverages was fierce in the United States, and the young community of Fargo was not immune to this social issue. On February 17, 1871, a U.S. Army regiment that had been dispatched from Fort Abercrombie disbanded “Fargo in the Timber,” a collection of shanties and huts that constituted the less affluent section of town. The charges levied against the depo
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The First Lutheran Church

Like other religious groups, Lutherans populated the landscape in large numbers, which brought about the need for a communal place of worship.  Members established a church in which they aptly named First Lutheran Church, located in the area of 400 Roberts Street.  The church was built with an open porch and there were several wooden homes built next to this church. As with most of the other early religious structure
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The First Methodist Church, 1874

First, this picture of the First Methodist Church indicates that it was built in a dense growth of older trees.  This would indicate that it was taken close to water and not deep into the prairie.  Therefore, there was no retreat for the early settlers of Fargo if faced with outside threats. Next, the windows are exposed and remarkably made of stained glass.  Not only were the new settlers resilient, but they showed
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Introduction to Religion and Architecture in the Community, 1880-1910

The Red River Valley boom began in the 1880s. Heavy immigration, mostly of Scandinavians, Poles, Bohemians, and German-Russians, helped first populate the area. The migration demographics of the West were shaped by the Red River tributary that ran through the Minnesota and North Dakota valley and railroad lines to the newly formed area that we know as Fargo. With the migration of people came the expansion of religion
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The Divorce Capital of America

The Dakota Territory was the divorce capitol of the west up until 1899.  This was due to the fact that this area was believed to be a place where people could go to start a new life and the legislation echoed this belief.  The first legislation gave immediate access to divorces in 1866, but was later lengthened to three months in 1877.[1]  With the railroad running through Fargo it was easy for couples to establish r
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First United Methodist

  In 1871, Father James Gurley held the first formal Methodist service in Fargo in Pinkham Hall at the corner of Main Avenue and 5th Street.  However, it was the Rev. John Webb who organized the first Methodist Sunday school and helped to build the first Methodist Episcopal Church.  The land for the church was donated by the Northern Pacific Railway and was 30′ x 50′.  It was completed on July 1, 187
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Gethsemane Cathedral

When Episcopal Bishop William D. Walker was appointed, he chose Fargo as his See City and Gethsemane Church became Gethsemane Cathedral.  In 1893, the church was located on the southeastern corner of Second Avenue and Ninth Street South and had 175 members. The Rev. F.B. Nash Jr. was the rector.  The building was the only wooden Episcopal cathedral in the United States.[1]Gethsemane  Heather Brinkman, Digital History
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The Unitarian Church

The Unitarian Church was organized in February of 1890. It was located on the corner of Ninth Street South and Second Avenue. This photo was taken in 1899 and Richmond Fisk, D.D. was the minster at the time.[1]Unitarian Church Heather Brinkman, Digital History 2012 [1] Caron, John. “Fargo, N.D., History Exhibition, Institute for Regional Studies, NDSU.” Fargo, N.D., History  Exhibition, Institute for Regional Studies
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St. Mark’s English Lutheran Church

Rev. W.F. Ulery came to Fargo in 1885 to start a Lutheran church whose services were done in English as all of the services offered in the area where in the people’s native tongues.  He persuaded the Southern Railway Depot to allow him to use their building to teach Sunday School.  During his two years of teaching Sunday school he raised the $2,000 needed to build a church proper on a three lots on the corner o
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Pontoppidan Lutheran Church

On December 14, 1877 25 charter members met in the home of G. Johnson to organize this church and came up with the name Pontoppidan Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation.  The name was changed in 1878 to the First Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Fargo and changed again only a month later to Pontoppidan Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church.  The foundation of the church was laid in August
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