Fargo Travel Guide, North Dakota

Fargo, ND US – Overview: A Gateway to the West

Along the Red River bordering North Dakota and Minnesota, there lays the city of Fargo, which has the distinction of being North Dakota’s largest city and Cass County’s county seat. With an estimated population of 100,000, Fargo forms with its twin city of West Fargo and Moorhead the central point of Fargo-Moorhead. The city is the economic center and crossroads of northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. It is also the region’s healthcare, manufacturing, retail and educational hub. North Dakota State University is housed in the city of Fargo.

The city is located in the Great Plains and is far off from both oceans and mountains. This gives the city an extreme range of climate.

Gateway to the West

Founded in 1871, Fargo is named after William G. Fargo, who was the director of the North Pacific Railroad. Initially, Fargo was a rowdy and rough town, but grew very quickly when settlers started inhabiting the place in search for cheap and fertile farmland along the river valley. Later, the city was nicknamed “Gateway to the west.”

The Divorce Capital

Fargo was also known as the “Divorce Capital”, the reason being the merciful divorce laws. In 1890, The North Dakota State Agricultural College was established, whose name was changed in 1960 to the North Dakota State University. In 1905, the Pence Automobile Company was setup.

Art, Culture and Economy

Since its birth, agriculture has been the backbone of the economy. However, the growth in manufacturing, food processing, retail trade, technology, health care and higher education has subsidized the dominance of agriculture on the economy.

Fargo houses three famous universities and the production and promotion of most of the theatres are done by these universities. This results in great variation in cultural opportunities. The city also houses many theatre companies, which include Tin Roof Theatre Company, Theatre ‘B’ and Ursa Major.

Positioned in downtown Fargo, The Plain Art Museum is larger than any other museums in the city. It has many permanent art collections. Fargo Air Museum, Roger Maris Museum and Courthouse Museum display the past and current collections of popular artworks.

Get refreshed with a game of golf

A long tiresome week is easily replaced by a round of golf in the famous Edgewood Golf Course in Fargo. It is an all-round recreation centre. Then, there are Rose Creek Golf Course and Fargo Country Club. In snowy winters, there is the beautiful option of scanning the city by skiing through the white snow. The city also has some of the finest restaurants and nightclubs.

With the city having so many options for enjoying the vacation, Fargo should next be in your list as a holiday destination.

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