Notes:
Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, as well as adjacent West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the center of the Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Founded in 1871, Fargo is the crossroads and economic center of southeastern North Dakota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota. Fargo is a cultural, retail, manufacturing, health care, and educational hub for the region. Fargo is home to North Dakota State University.
History
Early history
The area that is present-day Fargo was an early stopping point for steamboats floating down the Red River during the 1870s and 1880s. The city was originally named "Centralia," but was later renamed "Fargo" in honor of Northern Pacific Railway director and Wells Fargo Express Company founder William Fargo. The area started to flourish after the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the city became known as the "Gateway to the West".
During the 1880s, Fargo became the "divorce capital" of the Midwest because of lenient divorce laws.
A major fire struck the city on June 7, 1893 when the proprietor of a grocery store accidentally started the blaze as she emptied ashes behind her store on a windy day. The fire destroyed 31 blocks of downtown Fargo. However, the city was quickly rebuilt with new buildings made of brick, new streets, and a water system. Over 246 new buildings were built within one year.
The North Dakota State Agricultural College was founded in 1890 as North Dakota's land-grant university, becoming first accredited by the North Central Association in 1915. In 1960, NDAC became known as North Dakota State University.
The 20th century
Early in the century, the automobile industry flourished, and in 1905, Fargo was home to the Pence Automobile Company.
Fargo-Moorhead boomed after World War II and the city grew rapidly despite being hit by a violent tornado in 1957. The tornado destroyed a large portion of the north end of the city. Dr. Ted Fujita, famous for his Fujita tornado scale, analyzed pictures of the Fargo tornado, which helped him develop his ideas for "wall cloud" and "tail cloud." These were the first major scientific descriptive terms associated with tornadoes. The coming of two interstates (I-29 and I-94) revolutionized travel in the region and pushed growth of Fargo to the south and west of the city limits. In 1972, the West Acres Shopping Center, currently the largest shopping mall in North Dakota, was constructed near the intersection of the two Interstates. This mall would become the catalyst for retail growth in the area. It would also spell the beginning of decline for Fargo's downtown.
Recent history
Several businesses now have major operations in the community including Microsoft, Navteq and Cetero Research. The city's major retail districts on the southwest side have seen rapid expansion as has the downtown area due, at least, in part to investments made by the city and private developers in the Renaissance Zone. Planning agencies have also been active in promoting housing rehabilitation in older sections of the city such as the Roosevelt neighborhood to stem blight and strengthen the city's core.
Since the late 1990s, the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Statistical Area has consistently had one of the lowest unemployment rates among MSAs in the United States. This, coupled with Fargo's low crime rate and the decent supply of affordable housing in the community, has prompted Money magazine to rank the city near the top of its annual list of America's most livable cities throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Fargo's largest challenge over the past two years, however, has been the rising water of the Red River, which flows from the United States into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The Red flows northward, which means melting snow and river ice, a as well as runoff from its tributaries, often create ice dams, which cause the river to overflow. Fargo's surrounding Red River Valley terrain is essentially flat, leading to overland flooding. With the Red flowing right through the heart of the city, permanent flood protection will be an issue for many years to come.
This geographical setup leaves the city currently vulnerable to flooding during seasons with above average precipitation. The Red River's "minor" flood stage in Fargo begins at a level of 18 feet, with "major" flooding categorized at 30 feet and above. Many major downtown roadways and access to Moorhead, MN are closed off at this level. Record snowfalls late in 1996 led to flooding in 1997, causing the Red to rise to a record crest of 39.5 feet, nearly overtaking city defenses. In 200008-2009, significant fall precipitation coupled with a rapid snowmelt in March 2009 caused the Red to rise to a new record level of 40.84 feet, but again Fargo remained safe, in large part due to flood mitigation efforts instituted after the '97 event. Further upgrades were made to city infrastructure and additional resources brought to bear following the '09 flood, which caused no issues for the city in 2010 despite another rapid melt that caused the Red to rise to 37 feet (which ranks among the top ten highest levels ever recorded). Recent discussions have focused on a $1.5 billion diversion project that would channel the Red's water away from the city, but such a project is very much in the planning stages and being evaluated by various government agencies.
City/Town : Latitude: 46.87839337789462, Longitude: -96.79452896118164Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s)  |
Death  |
Person ID | Tree | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wilma Lyman, Margaret | Thursday 17 November 1988 | Fargo, Cass County, North Dakota, USA | I475356 | Veenkoloniale voorouders |
| I like this service very much and I want to donate money | Ik vind deze site geweldig en wil graag financieel helpen het in stand te houden
This site powered by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding ©, written by Darrin Lythgoe 2001-2024.
