1897 Map of Fargo

About this map

The Red River of the North serves as a winding spine for this late 19th-century landscape, carving a serpentine boundary between the emerging hubs of Fargo and Moorhead. This map illustrates the critical importance of rail infrastructure in the settlement of the Red River Valley, with the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads intersecting at the river crossing. Outside these urban centers, the prairie is subdivided into a grid of townships like Moland and Spring Prairie, dotted with small trackside settlements and stations such as Kurtz (Elmer Sta.) and Hickson.