The image to the right is a montage of pictures of 16 Fargo churches in 1897. Can you identify them all? I can't. If you know more, please email me.

Top Row: First Christian Church, First Baptist Church, Unknown, Swedish Baptist Church.

Second Row:Two unknowns, St. Mark's English Lutheran Church.

Third Row: First Methodist Church, Congregational Church, Unitarian Church, unknown

Bottom Row: Pontoppidan Lutheran Church, three unknowns, Swedish Lutheran Church.

The first religious service in Fargo appears to have been held in June 1872 by Dr. A. D. Forbes, M.D. The service was held in the construction camp of the Northern Pacific Railroad in what is now Fargo. In August 1872, Reverend Joseph A. Gilfillan held the second recorded church service in Fargo. A Northern Pacific engineer, General Thomas R. Rosser, and his wife Betty invited Gilfillan to read prayer and conduct communion in one of the tents that then made up the Fargo townsite. Five communicants attended the service.

Another account of the first service is given in the Argus, June 7, 1894. The Argus reported that the a Rev. Mr. Webb , in charge of the interests of the Methodist Church in Dakota Territory, came to Fargo in 1873. Moorhead had a greater population at the time and Rev. Webb decided to hold a church service there. J.B. Chapin tried to persuade Rev. Webb to hold the service in Fargo but failing that compromised on an evening service in Fargo. Chapin obtained $50 in silver half dollars from N.K. Hubbard, a Moorhead merchant, and gave 50¢ to anyone who would attend the service if they would go early, sit up front, and put the money in the collection plate. Chapin said he wanted to "hear them jingle." The service was held in Pinkham's new hall. The contributions were in excess of $60.

Both of the above stories are probably true.

The first church built in Fargo was the Methodist Episcopalian Church [the First Methodist Church] which erected its building in 1874.

Listed below are links to the individual pages describing early Fargo churches:

• Fargo Hebrew Congregation
• First Methodist Episcopal Church
• First Baptist Church
• First Norwegian Baptist Church
• First Lutheran Church
• First Presbyterian Church
• First Christian Church
• Plymouth Congregational Church
• Roberts Street German Evangelical Church

• Pontoppidan Lutheran Church
• Gethesmane Cathedral
• St. Mark's English Lutheran Church
• St. Mary's Cathedral
• Swedish Baptist Church
• Swedish Lutheran Church
• Unitarian Church
• Broadway Methodist Episcopalian Church
• Mystery Churches