Fargo came into being because the Northern Pacific Railroad built a bridge across the Red River. The bridge was started in the early winter of 1871 and was completed in June of 1872. The photograph above was obviously taken between those dates while the bridge was being built. Note the steamship Selkirk built in 1871. The photograph looks southwest from Minnesota toward Fargo. The tents on the Dakota side may have been part of "Fargo in the Timber."

The photograph is from the collection of the Clay County Historical Society.

For more about the NP Bridge, please continue here.