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James Holes
The James Holes house is one of the oldest buildings in Fargo to be standing in its original location. Built in 1879, the home attracted considerable attention due to its size and quality of construction. At the time it was built, the house was approximately one mile north of town. The 1880 City Directory lists the address as “Broadway. North of city limits.” It was surrounded by a healthy wheat field, dotted with b
Read MoreFargo’s Opera House in the Fargo Fire
The first opera house of Fargo received little respect in its early years for either presentation or design. In November of 1890, Alex Stern and Harry O’Neill offered to build a new opera house for Fargo if the city would provide aid.[1] Stern repeated this offer as late as February of 1892, still hoping to provide a new opera house for the growing city.[2] A theater manager from Minneapolis, Charles A. Parker, ackno
Read MoreOrigins of the Fargo Fire
The morning of June 7th did not presage any great change, save for a sultry wind blowing thirty miles per hour and a temperature that was to reach 88 degrees. At 2:15 on June 7th, the “fire laddies” were called to deal with a fire that seemed to have started behind Herzman’s Dry Goods store on 512 Front Street. The beginnings of the fire proved to be somewhat controversial. As a young man, John Hannaher was to bear w
Read MorePrairie Progress: An Introduction to the Development of Fargo’s Commercial Center, 1871-1898
At the heart of nearly any fledgling prairie town of the latter decades of the nineteenth century in the United States lays an arterial business and commercial sector regardless of size or scope. Without reliable establishments that provide basic services to meet the needs of an early population, growth becomes hamstrung and a town’s future uncertain. Business and commercial enterprises not only dictate the ebb and
Read MoreProving Up: Three Decades of Trial and Triumph
By the turn of the twentieth century, Fargo’s commercial business structures signaled a meaningful transition from the early structures. While the settlers were concerned with the immediate and practical applications, the growing city began to reflect a higher culture and advancing lifestyle on the Northern Plains. Simple utilitarian structures gave way to the buildings that served thriving businesses at the heart o
Read MoreIcon of Progress on the Plains
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
Read MoreResilience and Rebound: Virtues of Building in Brick
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
Read MoreRebuilding a City: A New Approach
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,
Read MoreLoss and Devastation in Fargo’s Business District
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
Read MoreFlooding, Sewage Management, and Early Plumbing
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
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