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External links
City of Fargo official website
History of Fargo - website detailing history of Fargo
Downtown Fargo History - website devoted to the history of downtown Fargo
James Lileks' Fargo - website with many pictures of historic Fargo
Fargo Filmmaking Wiki - a wiki about moviemaking that originated in Fargo
Fargo, North Dakota Geology - website about the geology of the Fargo area
Fargo, North Dakota is at coordinates 46°52′38″N 96°47′22″W / 46.877223, -96.789445 Coordinates: 46°52′38″N 96°47′22″W / 46.877223, -96.789445

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Notable residents
Henry Luke Bolley - plant pathologist and first NDSU football coach
James F. Buchli - (Colonel, USMC, Ret.) former NASA Space Shuttle astronaut born in New Rockford, North Dakota who later lived in Fargo
Chris Coste - Major League Baseball player
Shannon Curfman - blues guitarist and singer
CariDee English - winner of America's Next Top Model, Season 7
John Bernard Flannagan - sculptor
William H. Gass - writer
Paul Gaustad - National Hockey League player for the Buffalo Sabres
Chuck Klosterman - author, and journalist for Spin, Esquire, and ESPN
Charlie Korsmo - film actor
Kimberly Krueger - Miss North Dakota USA 2006
Jonny Lang - blues guitarist and singer
Gary Larsen - NFL football player, member of the "Purple People Eaters"
Roger Maris - former New York Yankees baseball player
Carey McWilliams - blind marksman, and author
Aloisius Joseph Muench - Bishop of Fargo
Collin Peterson - United States Representative for Minnesota
Kirstin Rudrud - actress, notable for her acting in the movie Fargo
Donny Schatz - World of Outlaws driver
Ed Schultz - Progressive/Liberal radio talk show host syndicated by the Jones Radio Network
Frank Scott - musician, pianist and arranger with the Lawrence Welk orchestra
Burleigh F. Spalding - former United States Representative from North Dakota
Bobby Vee - pop music singer from 1960s
Brenda Weiler - singer/songwriter

Trivia

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Sites of interest

Arenas and auditoriums
Fargodome - (1800 North University Drive) An indoor arena located on the NDSU campus. It plays host to all NDSU home football games and is also used for concerts and trade shows. This is also where the high school wrestling national freestyle and greco-roman championships take place every year
Reineke Fine Arts Center [9] - (12th Avenue North and Bolley Drive) Located on the NDSU campus. The University uses the center for concerts, theatrical presentations, and other events.
Fargo Civic Center - (207 4th Street North) An indoor arena used to host trade shows, sporting events, meetings, community events, concerts, and disaster relief.
John E. Carlson Coliseum - (807 17th Avenue North) This arena is host to the Fargo North High School and Fargo South High School hockey teams as well as the FM Jets hockey team. The arena was built in 1968 and has previously been home to the Fargo Blazers and NDSU Club hockey teams. The arena is also for figure skating. The Coliseum hosts the largest squirt hockey tournament in the world, the Fargo Flyers Squirt International Hockey Tournament.
Urban Plains Center - On June 27, 2007, Fargo held a groundbreaking for the Urban Plains Center ice hockey arena. The arena will be located in south Fargo and will cost about $34 Million to construct. The arena will be used for a USHL team as well as local youth and high school hockey teams.

Museums
Bonanzaville, USA - (1351 Main Avenue, West Fargo) A "village" made up of many historic buildings from the region. Includes a church, school building, and log cabins. It is named after the historic bonanza farms of the area. Open May-October.
The Children's Museum at Yunker Farm [10] - (1201 28th Avenue North) Provides many exhibits and "hands-on" participation for children. Open year-round.
Fargo Air Museum - (1609 19th Avenue North) Features aircraft from World War II and beyond. Also hosts traveling exhibits.
Plains Art Museum - (704 1st Avenue North) A large art museum located in a historic downtown building. Features regional and national exhibits.
The Roger Maris Museum - (West Acres Shopping Center) A small museum dedicated to Roger Maris located in a wing of the mall. Features memorabilia and a video presentation about the New York Yankees player who lived in Fargo for a portion of his life.
Hjemkomst Center - (Downtown at 202 1st Ave. N, Moorhead MN) Displays and interprets the Hjemkmost replica Viking ship that was sailed to Norway. Also home of the Clay County Historical Society museum and archives.

Theatres
Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre [11] - (333 4th Street South) FMCT presents comedies, dramas, youth shows, and musicals in a theatre located in Island Park south of downtown.
Fargo Theatre - (314 Broadway) A 1926 Art Deco movie theatre. Presents films (classic and current), live productions, and other events.
Main Avenue Theatre - (716 Main Avenue) Hosts live productions by local independent theater companies Theatre B and the Tin Roof Theatre Company and other events.
Trollwood Performing Arts School [12] - Trollwood Performing Arts School is a summer theatre arts program for students of all ages. The school presents many different forms of performing arts every summer, the most prominent being a Broadway musical performed in front of up to 2,500 audience members per night at an outdoor ampitheatre. The school is noted for its numerous national arts awards.

Misc. attractions
Newman Outdoor Field - (1515 15th Avenue North) Home of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (an independent professional baseball team that is part of the Northern League).
North Dakota Horse Park [13] - (5100 19th Avenue North) Features live racing and betting.
Red River Zoo - (4220 21st Avenue Southwest) A 30-acre zoo that features 80 species of animals. Also includes a restored 1928 carousel.
Fargo Outdoor Skate Park [14] - (4th Street) Outdoor skate park located at the Dike West.
Fargo-Moorhead Jets Junior "A" Hockey [15] - The Jets play in the North American Hockey League, a "Tier II" junior hockey league.

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Transportation
Fargo is a major transportation hub for the surrounding region. It sits at the crossroads of two major interstate highways and is the home of a major airport.
Fargo is served by Hector International Airport. Hector has the longest public runway in the state and has scheduled passenger flights to Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Salt Lake City. An Air National Guard unit is also located at Hector.
The BNSF Railway runs through the metropolitan area as successor to the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railroad. Amtrak service is provided via the Empire Builder passenger train at the Fargo Amtrak station.
The city sits at the intersection of Interstate 29 and Interstate 94. U.S. Highway 81 and U.S. Highway 10 also run through the community. Some other major roadways in the city include 45th St., 13th Ave., Main Ave. and University Drive.
Inside the metropolitan area, a public bus service named Metro Area Transit (MAT) operates several routes. Greyhound Lines, Jefferson Lines and Rimrock Stages Trailways bus services also link Fargo to other communities.
The street system of Fargo is structured in the classic grid pattern. Routes that run from north to south are called streets, and routes that run from east to west are called avenues.
See also: Major roads in Fargo, North Dakota

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Media
See also: Fargo-Moorhead media for a list of newspapers, radio, and television stations
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead is the city's major newspaper. The High Plains Reader, an independent weekly tabloid, also operates in the community. North Dakota State University's student paper, The Spectrum, is printed twice weekly during the academic year.
Fargo is also home to several radio and television stations. Forum Communications, which also owns The Forum, owns WDAY-TV and WDAY radio. Local resident James Ingstad owns six radio stations including KFGO. The main cable television provider in Fargo is CableOne.

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Sports
Fargo-Moorhead Jets of the North American Hockey League
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the Northern League
Fargo Post #2 of the North Dakota American Legion Baseball League
Fargo Marathon

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Recreation
The Fargo Park District operates many neighborhood parks throughout the city. The metropolitan area contains the following golf courses: Edgewood Golf Course (18-hole), Fargo Country Club (18-hole) Rose Creek Golf Course (18-hole), El Zagal (9-hole), Prairiewood Golf Course (9-hole), and the new Osgood Golf Course (9-hole). In the winter Edgewood serves as a warming house and rents skis out. Rose Creek has a restaurant called Seasons and also gives golfing lessons in the summer.

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Culture

Marquee of the Fargo Theater in downtown Fargo
Fargo offers a relatively wide variety of cultural opportunities for a city of its size. This is likely due, in part, to the presence of three universities in the metropolitan area. Most theatre and events are either promoted or produced by the universities, although there are a few private theatre companies in the city including Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (FMCT), Theatre 'B' in downtown Fargo, Ursa Major Theatre Company, and The Entertainment Company. Music organizations in the metropolitan area include the Fargo-Moorhead Opera, the Jazz Arts Group, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and the Fargo-Moorhead Youth Symphony.
The Fargo Theatre is a restored 1926 Art Deco movie house that features first-run movies, film festivals, and other community events. The Fargodome routinely hosts concerts, Broadway musicals, dance performances, sporting events, as well as fairs and other gatherings
The Plains Art Museum is the largest museum of art in the state. It is located in downtown Fargo and features regional and national exhibits. It also houses a large permanent collection of art. There are several other museums in Fargo including The Children's Museum at Yunker Farm [7], The Fargo Air Museum, The Courthouse Museum, The Roger Maris Museum in West Acres Shopping Center, and the North Dakota State University Wall of Fame in the Scheels All Sports store.
The Fargo Public Library [8] was established in 1900 and for many years was housed in a Carnegie-funded building. In 1968, the library moved into a new facility as part of urban renewal efforts in the downtown area. In 2002, the Fargo Public Library established the first branch library in North Dakota with the opening of the Southpointe Branch. In 2004, voters passed an 18-month sales tax measure for new library facilities with 62% of voters in favor. As a result of this vote, the new Northport Branch opened in 2006, the expanded Dr. James Carlson Library will replace the current Southpointe Branch in late 2007, and a new main library downtown is scheduled to open in 2008

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Education

K-12
The Fargo Public Schools system operates fifteen elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools (Fargo North High School and Fargo South High School), and an alternative high school (Woodrow Wilson). South Fargo ninth graders are temporarily going to South Campus II (former Agassiz Middle School) until another new high school is built in South Fargo. The West Fargo Public Schools system serves much of the southwest part of the city.
Fargo is also home to six parochial schools, including two private high schools (Oak Grove Lutheran School and Shanley High School).

Higher education
Fargo is home to North Dakota State University (NDSU) which has over 12,500 students. NDSU was founded in 1890 primarily as an agricultural school, but has since branched out to cover many other fields of study. NDSU is also a major research institute. Together, NDSU and the University of North Dakota make up the Red River Valley Research Corridor.
Fargo is also home to several private institutions, including Aakers Business College, a branch location of the University of Mary, and Masters Baptist College operated by Fargo Baptist Church.
Elementary schools
Bennett Elementary School
Centennial Elementary School
Clara Barton Elementary School
Hawthorne Elementary School
Horace Mann Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School
Kennedy Elementary School
Lewis and Clark Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
Longfellow Elementary School
Madison Elementary School
McKinley Elementary School
Roosevelt Elementary School
Washington Elementary School

Middle schools
Ben Franklin Middle School
Carl Ben Eielson Middle School
Discovery Middle School

High schools
Fargo North High School
Fargo South High School
South Campus II (ninth graders from South Fargo attend this school)
Woodrow Wilson High School (alternative high school)

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Economy
The economy of the Fargo area has historically been dependent on agriculture. That dominance has decreased substantially in recent decades. Now, the city of Fargo has a growing economy based on food processing, manufacturing, technology, retail trade, higher education, and healthcare. The largest non-governmental employers in the city include MeritCare Health System, Innovis Health, Alien Technology, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, US Bank, and Microsoft. North Dakota State University is the largest public sector employer in the city.

Notable local companies
ABC Seamless - seamless steel siding company headquartered in Fargo
Alien Technology - an RFID manufacturer
BBI International [2] - a leading biofuels firm whose IT Operations Center is based in Fargo
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota[3] - insurance company
Cass-Clay Creamery - local creamery founded in 1934
CNH Global - manufacturer of agricultural equipment
Eide Bailly [4] - top 25[5] national CPA firm headquartered in Fargo
Forum Communications - owns many regional newspapers, radio stations, and television stations
Global Electric Motorcars - manufacturer of neighborhood electric vehicles, and subsidiary of Daimler-Chrysler
Hornbacher's - local chain of supermarkets
Microsoft - a division (Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly Great Plains Software) of the software giant is located in Fargo
Minnkota - window manufacturer
NAVTEQ - a provider of Geographic Information Systems
Phoenix International [5] - a John Deere Company, designs and manufactures electronics for on-road and off-road vehicles
PRACS Institute, Ltd. - provider of medical testing
RDO Equipment Company - regional chain of agricultural stores
Scheels All Sports - regional chain of sporting goods stores
SEI Information Technologies [6] - call center, provides helpdesk support for food and service companies, operates remote drive-thrus for national chains including McDonald's, and provides contracted employees to the local Microsoft branch.
Titan Machinery - Chain of agricultural and construction machinery stores throughout the midwest.

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Demographics
Historical populations
Census
Pop.
%±
1900
9,589
—
1910
14,331
49.5%
1920
21,961
53.2%
1930
28,619
30.3%
1940
32,580
13.8%
1950
38,256
17.4%
1960
46,662
22.0%
1970
53,365
14.4%
1980
61,383
15.0%
1990
74,111
20.7%
2000
90,599
22.2%
Est. 2005
90,964
0.4%
As of the census GR2 of 2000, there were 90,599 people (2004 city estimate: 98,084[1]) (2005 Census Bureau estimate: 90,934[2]), 39,268 households, and 20,733 families residing in the city. The population density was 922.0/km² (2,388.2/mi²). There were 41,200 housing units at an average density of 419.3/km² (1,086.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.17% White, 1.02% African American, 1.24% Native American, 1.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.
The top 6 ancestry groups in the city are German (40.6%), Norwegian (35.9%), Irish (8.6%), Swedish (6.5%), English (5.2%), French (4.7%).
There were 39,268 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 19.2% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,510, and the median income for a family was $50,486. Males had a median income of $31,968 versus $22,264 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,101. About 6.6% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Cass County Courthouse
Fargo uses the city commission style of local government. Four commissioners and a mayor are elected at large. The current mayor of Fargo is Dennis Walaker, who was elected on June 13, 2006. The Fargo City Commission meets every two weeks in its chambers above the Fargo Civic Center. The meetings are broadcast on a local cable channel.
Although diverse politically, Fargo is by and large a Republican-leaning area. Democrats tend to do well in state elections in the older and established areas of Fargo (Districts 11 and 21), but Republicans dominate throughout much of the newer areas of the city. George W. Bush carried Fargo as well as the rest Cass County in the 2004 presidential election, with nearly 60 percent of the vote in both areas. Although less Democratic-leaning than Grand Forks, Fargo is considerably more moderate/liberal than Bismarck where Democrats hold not a single seat in the state legislature. In the 2006 elections, several Fargo-area Republican incumbents to the state legislature were defeated.
See also: List of mayors of Fargo, North Dakota

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Climate
Due to its location in the Great Plains and its distance from both mountains and oceans, the city has an extreme continental climate. The city is known for its long, cold and snowy winters. In sharp contrast summers are warm to hot, and often quite humid with frequent thunderstorms. Spring and autumn are short and highly variable seasons.
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg high °F (°C)
16 (-9)
23 (-5)
35 (2)
54 (12)
69 (21)
77 (25)
82 (28)
81 (27)
70 (21)
56 (13)
35 (2)
21 (-6)
Avg low temperature °F (°C)
-2 (-19)
5 (-15)
19 (-7)
32 (0)
45 (7)
54 (12)
59 (15)
57 (14)
46 (8)
34 (1)
19 (-7)
4 (-15)
Precip (in)
0.76
0.59
1.17
1.37
2.61
3.51
2.88
2.52
2.18
1.97
1.06
0.57
Source: MSN.com [1]

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Geography
Fargo is located at 46°52′17″N, 96°48′31″W (46.871414, -96.808658)GR1.
Fargo sits on the western bank of the Red River of the North in a very flat region known as the Red River Valley. The Red River Valley was once a part of glacial Lake Agassiz, which drained away about 9,300 years ago. The lake sediments deposited from Lake Agassiz made the land around Fargo some of the richest in the world for agricultural uses. Early settlers sometimes called the Red River Valley a new "Garden of Eden".
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 98.3 km² (37.9 mi²), all land.

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[edit] History

[edit] 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 of Fargo was originally named "Centralia," but was later renamed to "Fargo" in honor of Northern Pacific Railway director and Wells Fargo Express Company founder William Fargo. Fargo was founded in 1871. The area started to flourish after the arrival of the railroad and the city became known as the "Gateway to the West".
During the 1880s, Fargo became the "divorce capital" of the Midwest due to very lenient divorce laws.[4]
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 hundreds of homes and businesses. However, Fargo was quickly rebuilt with new buildings made of brick, new streets, and a water system. 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.

[edit] The 20th Century
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. The coming of the 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 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 a time of decline for the downtown area of Fargo.

[edit] Recent history

Broadway in downtown Fargo in 2007
In recent years, Fargo has seen relatively strong growth both in population and economic activity. Several businesses now have major operations in the community including Microsoft, Alien Technology, Navteq and PRACS Institute. 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. City leaders would like to see an addition of five-hundred new housing units in the downtown area within the next five years. 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 core of the city. Indeed, during the 1990s most inner city neighborhoods such as Hawthorne, Jefferson, and Horace Mann actually lost population even as rapid growth occurred along the edges of the city in sprawling new developments. As Fargo has grown and matured, however, the city has placed a growing emphasis on long-range urban planning. Furthermore, several developers desiring to bring in additional "big box" retail stores on the far south end of Fargo have been rebuffed by planning officials and nearby residents alike arguing that the developments do not conform to new long-range planning guidelines. These instances might speak to the increasing bargaining power and leverage that Fargo has over private developers due to its stronger position within the regional economy after years of considerable growth. Many urban scholars argue that this is a preferred and advantageous position for cities to be in as they do not have to "bend over backwards" to accommodate business interests.
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 was also awarded in 2006 for having some of the cleanest air in the United States, for a city of its size.
Nevertheless, Fargo in the early 21st century faces some challenges. Articles published in the summer of 2006 by The Forum, have noted that the supply of affordable housing in the city is shrinking due to area wages and incomes not rising as fast as housing costs in the city. Moreover, research conducted by the North Dakota State Data Center and the U.S. Census Bureau document that the city's population growth may be stalling after decades of steady growth. In fact, 2005 census estimates showed a decrease in the population of Fargo proper, albeit an increase in the metro area as a whole. These numbers, however, have been disputed by city officials as the Census Bureau in recent years has been faulted for significantly underestimating the population of some North Dakota cities. Be this as it may, Richard Rathge, the state demographer, has warned that Fargo may very well be losing its primary pool of new migrants as outlying areas of North Dakota, traditionally the geographic area upon which Fargo draws for new migrants, have been rapidly declining in population for decades. In fact, Fargo, for the last two decades, has relied upon international migration for a very large proportion of its new in-migration. Overall, the population of Fargo has been estimated at 90,934 (2006 estimate), but city officials believe the number is closer to 96,000 or 97,000 people.

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Motto: Gateway to the West
Location in North Dakota
Coordinates: 46°52′38″N 96°47′22″W / 46.87722, -96.78944
Country
United States
State
North Dakota
County
Cass
Founded
1871
Government
- Mayor
Dennis Walaker
Area
- City
37.9 sq mi (98.3 km²)
- Land
37.9 sq mi (98.3 km²)
- Water
0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation
899 ft (274 m)
Population (2000)
- City
90,599
- Density
2,388.2/sq mi (922.0/km²)
- Metro
174,367
- 2004 City Estimate
98,084

Source: City of Fargo[1]
Time zone
CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)
CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)
701
FIPS code
38-25700GR2
GNIS feature ID
1028945GR3
Website: http://ci.fargo.nd.us

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Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota in the United States. It is the county seat of Cass County, located in the Red River Valley region. The population was 90,599 at the 2000 census (2004 city estimate: 98,084[1]) (2005 Census Bureau estimate: 90,934[2]), which makes it the largest city in North Dakota. Along with West Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, it forms the center of the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area. The metropolitan area has a population of 174,367[3] and encompasses a large physical area of Cass County in southeastern North Dakota and Clay County in northwestern Minnesota.
The city of Fargo is the crossroads and economic center of a large portion of eastern North Dakota and a portion of northwestern Minnesota. Fargo is a retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and educational hub for the region. Fargo is home to North Dakota State University. The local newspaper is The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. The city motto is "Gateway to the West". Fargo was founded in 1871