Fargo, ND news and local guide

The area that is now Fargo was part of Dakota, or Sioux, territory and in the 1870s and 1880s was a stopping point for steamboats on the Red River. The town was first named Centralia and was later renamed for William Fargo, a director of the Northern Pacific Railway and founder of the Wells Fargo Express Company. In its early days there were two Fargos: "Fargo on the Prairie," run in orderly fashion by Northern Pacific engineers, and "Fargo in the Timber," which was largely lawless and full, according to The Forum newspaper, of "desperate and reckless characters." A federal crackdown ended Fargo in the Timber, and the modern city grew from Fargo on the Prairie. The arrival of the Northern Pacific made Fargo flourish, and it became known as the Gateway to the West.

More about Fargo

In the 1880s Fargo became the divorce capital of the Midwest because of North Dakota's lenient divorce laws. On June 7, 1893, a fire destroyed 31 blocks of downtown. Rumors spread about its cause, but the city rebuilt at once, with brick buildings, new streets and a water system, and more than 246 new buildings went up within a year. North Dakota Agricultural College was founded in Fargo in 1890 as the state's land-grant university. It was first accredited in 1915 and became North Dakota State University in 1960. In the early 20th century the automobile industry flourished in the city. Sources Wikipedia: Fargo, North Dakota