Fargo Facts
Fact 1: Not exactly "Damn Yankees," but close enough ... Legendary Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth, had the honor of being one of the first, big-name headliners to perform at the historic Fargo Theatre. To the delight of hundreds of young men and their fathers, Ruth appeared on stage in full Yankee regalia and entertained the crowd with batting demonstrations and his famous wit.
Fact 2: What's in a name? Well, would you believe that the Northern Pacific Railway named the city of Fargo in honor of William G. Fargo, co-founder of the Wells Fargo Company? Fargo and partner Henry Wells started their banking and delivery business in the 1850s to service the financial needs of the ever-growing Western United States. Upon completion of the transcontinental railroad, the company became the country's first ocean-to-ocean express delivery service.
Fact 3: Fargo achieved international fame in 1996, when a feature film simply called "Fargo" (starring William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, and Steve Buscemi) hit theaters. The dark comedy directed by the Coen Brothers presents an offbeat look at the life of a man willing to orchestrate his wife's kidnapping in order to change his fortunes. Hilariously sadistic, the film embraces the deadpan humor of the Midwest and made catchphrases like "Yah" and "You betcha" part of the American vernacular.
Fact 4: Yankee great Roger Maris, one-half of the immortal M & M Boys, hailed from Fargo. In 1961, he and brash teammate Mickey Mantle launched a season-long assault on one of baseball's most cherished records, Babe Ruth's single-season homerun mark. Mantle's quest would be cut short due to injuries; however, Maris surpassed the Babe on the final day of the season, despite enormous media and fan pressure. In Fargo, Roger Maris is remembered at the museum that proudly bears his name and thanks to numerous public buildings around town, including the Roger Maris Cancer Center.
Fact 5: While Fargo can attribute much of its growth to placement along a navigable stretch of the Red River of the North, such proximity has not come without a cost. For example, spring floods have plagued the city at different times over the past 100 or so years, most notably in 1997, when the river crested at nearly 40 feet – almost 23 feet above flood stage.
Fact 6: Bison still roam the Fargo area, only now it's on the athletic fields of North Dakota State University. The Bison program, which offers 14 men's and women's sports, competes on the NCAA Division II level in the North Central Conference and has captured national championships in football, wrestling, cross country, women's basketball, softball, and women's track and field. Among the more famous Bison athletes is Tyrone Braxton, a 13-year NFL veteran defensive-back who played in four Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos.
Fact 7: The night sky on the outskirts of Fargo is wide, bright, and terrific for stargazing; however, if you want to see where stars truly leave their marks, you'll have to make your way to the Fargo-Moorhead CVB, where the likes of Gene Simmons, Neil Diamond, and Debbie Reynolds immortalized visits by leaving hand and footprints in the sidewalk of the Celebrity Walk of Fame.
Fact 8: Farming has long been the lifeblood of the region, thanks largely to mineral-rich soils. Why so fertile? Long ago, this section of the Dakotas lay under Lake Agassiz, which left clay-rich mineral sediments when it receded. The result of such long-ago movement is the deep black soil found here today.
Fact 9: Okay, let's make sure you've got it right: Down is actually up. This is especially true in the case of the Red River of the North, one of the few U.S. rivers that actually flows north into Canada. The Red, which divides North Dakota from Minnesota, flows between Fargo and Moorhead, toward Grand Forks, and ultimately empties into Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba.
Fact 10: What's in a name, Part II? Across the Red River from Fargo is its Minnesota sibling, Moorhead, founded in 1871. The town, named in honor of William G. Moorhead, a director of the Northern Pacific Railway, soon developed a bit of infamy for cowboy-style rowdiness (the sale of alcohol was permitted here but not in Fargo). Today, things have settled down considerably in "Sin City," and with Concordia College and Minnesota State University, it's quickly developing a reputation as a "gown town."
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