George Egbert (1875-1876)
Fargo's first mayor, Captain George Egbert was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania on November 15, 1820. As a child he moved with his family to Portage County, Ohio. At the age of 18 he left home for Shelby County, Illinois where he worked in the tailoring trade. In 1841 he returned to Ohio, and in 1849 he moved to Platteville, Wisconsin. In 1849 he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked as a brick maker. He started a mercantile business in Big Lake, Minnesota in 1850. He held office as Justice of the Peace and Judge Probate while there. In August 1853 he moved to Hastings, Minnesota where he settled on a claim which he amassed to 700 acres. In the winter of 1856-57 he was chosen as the chairman of the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad Land Company. He operated steamboats on the Mississippi River and nearly lost his life in an accident in 1866. He was elected Marshall for the city of Hastings and served two terms. On July 5, 1871 he came to Fargo bringing the first load of sawed lumber to Cass County. In 1871 he married Sarah Savery in Fargo. They had two children John N. and an adopted daughter, Cora. He was the city's first sheriff and first mayor, serving four terms. While at Fargo he amassed a large amount of property. He built the first frame business block which was also used as the Masonic Temple. He was the first Master Mason in Dakota Territory. He also built the city's first brick block with George Benz, in 1878. In January of 1884 he began publication of the Democratic Broadaxe. In 1890, Captian Egbert left Fargo for Portland, Oregon where he served as deputy U.S. Marshall. In 1895 he retired the marshal position and worked as a bailiff in the federal court at Portland. He retired in 1907 and died in Portland, Oregon on August 22, 1908.

Evan S. Tyler (1876-1877)
Evan S. Tyler was born in Damascus, Pennsylvania on March 22, 1843. He was educated at the Damascus Academy. He served two years in the 2nd Pennsylvania artillery in the Civil War, and two years in the office of the commissary of subsistence after the war. In the late 1860s he settled in Owatonna, Minnesota where he went into business with his brother. He came to Fargo in 1873 and went into partnership with N.K. Hubbard in the mercantile business. Together they also built and operated the second Headquarters Hotel in 1874, after the first one burned. Mr. Tyler was married to Clara Estella Barnes, the daughter of Judge Barnes. This marriage produced two children; Max and Tannisse. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler built one of the grandest homes in Fargo, but never lived in it. Tragedy struck when Mrs. Tyler died in Minneapolis on February 13, 1883, while the couple was on a shopping trip to buy furnishings for the new home. Mr. Tyler could not bring himself to live in the mansion with out her. This home would eventually become Oak Grove Seminary. Mr. Tyler had an active political career and was heavily involved in civic affairs. He was elected mayor in 1876 and served one term. He ran for governor of the new state of North Dakota in 1889, but lost by three votes. He was a member of the N.D. State Legislature from 1889-1890 and 1895-1896. He donated much of the land for Island Park, and was instrumental in bringing about Oak Grove Park. He was personally involved in cleaning the properties, and transforming them into some of the cities most beautiful places. He was a member of the El Zagal Shrine and was a founder of the First National Bank of Fargo. He died at the Metropole Hotel on August 20, 1923.

George Egbert (1877-1880) -- See above biography

Jasper B. Chapin (1880-1882)
Jasper B. Chapin was born January 7, 1822 in Genesee County, New York. He attended the school up to the age of 15, then he went off to manage a farm near Jamestown, New York. In 1852 he left home first going to Kansas, then to Colorado and then to Utah. He operated several different businesses in each location. In 1866 he moved to Virginia City, Montana where he operated the Planter's House hotel. It appears that this business went bankrupt in 1869. In 1871 Mr. Chapin came to the Red River Valley, where he settled in Moorhead, Minnesota here he also operated a hotel. In April 1873, he moved across the river to Fargo where he took charge of the Headquarters Hotel. He also took up farming, and in 1874 had the largest parcel of land under cultivation in Cass County. He invested much of his money into the city of Fargo, building some of the earliest business blocks, including the Continental Hotel and the Opera house, also know as Chapin Hall. He served two years as Fargo's mayor at a time when Fargo was experiencing is initial boom. In 1883, Mr. Chapin lost everything in the depression of 1883, and to add to his losses, his wife, the former Emma Jane Clark, died. Mr. Chapin lapsed into depression and his health failed. He attempted suicide on a visit to Grand Forks in the fall of 1895. His many friends took him under their care in an attempt to bring him back around, but on January 26, 1896, Mr. Chapin took his life while under medical treatment in St. Paul, Minnesota. Chapin was called the “Father of Fargo”, due to his many early contributions to the city.

William A. Kindred (1882-1883)
William A. Kindred was born about 1849 in Morris County, New Jersey. From 1872 to 1878 he was employed as part of the engineer corps with Northern Pacific Railroad. He was involved in producing the original railroad surveys of the Red River Valley. In December 1878 he settled in Fargo and became vice president of the Red River Valley National Bank. He was an organizer and vice president of the Fargo Southern Railroad. He held a large amount of real estate in North Dakota and the state of Washington. In the smallpox epidemic of February 1883, Mayor Kindred was given the authority to set up a hospital, burn clothing and force doctors to report cases. His wifes name was Lillian, and he had two daughters Lillian and Stella. He died at the age of 45 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 8, 1891. The town of Kindred, North Dakota was named in his honor in 1880.

 

Woodford A. Yerxa (1883-1885)
Woodford Allen Yerxa, was born in St. John's, New Brunswick, Canada, March 1856. He came to Minnesota in 1870, and in 1871 to Dakota Territory. In February 1974 he located in Fargo where he was first employed by Hubbard & Tyler. In 1876 he opened his own general merchandise business with his brother T.E, and later partnered with P. Goodman. W. A. Yerxa served as Fargo's first Treasure, and as Fargo's Mayor, being elected in 1883. Around 1890, Mr. Yerxa moved to Minneapolis, where he opened a grocery business with his brother F. R. Yerxa. He retired to Colusa, California where he died on February 10, 1935. Mr. Yerxa's wife Eva, died relatively young, while the family was living in Minneapolis, they had three children.

John A. Johnson (1885-1886)
John Augustus Johnson was born April 24, 1842 in Växjö, Sweden. He came to America with his family in 1854, his mother and two sisters dying of cholera shortly after arrival. This early tragedy forced the young boy into adulthood. Once he settled in Stillwater, Minnesota with his surviving family he was forced into the work force, securing a job at a hotel. He attended school in Stillwater, and then the Epworth Seminary, in Epworth, Iowa. In 1860 he went to Texas, with the intention of working in the cattle industry, however this adventure was thwarted by the breakout of the Civil War. At this point he moved north to Indiana to work for the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad, as a locomotive engineer. The U.S. Government contracted him during the later part of the war to do runs down to the southern states. After the war he returned north, and married Agnes A. Coller on August 27, 1865 in St. Louis, Missouri. Together they had five children. He returned to Stillwater, where he engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1873 he was elected Sheriff of Washington County, Minnesota. He devoted much of his time studying law and was admitted to the bar. In 1880 he moved his family to Fargo, the manager of the Seymour, Sabin & Co. In Fargo he operated an agricultural implement business and also opened a grocery business. The wealth he accumulated through his business enterprises allowed him to do extensive traveling though, Europe, South and Central America and most of the United States. Mr. Johnson was elected to the Fargo City Council in 1882, and in 1885 as mayor. He was re-elected to the position again in 1896, 1898, 1900 and 1906. He was a member of the Oddfellows and the Masons. He died of Bright's Disease on June 14, 1907, the first Fargo Mayor to die in office.

Charles Scott (1886-1887)
Little is known of Charles Scott, he was born in Canada about 1850. He came to Fargo about 1882 and was a partner with Joseph Lamont in the operation of the Headquarters Hotel. He appears in the Fargo City Directories until 1887.

Alanson W. Edwards (1887-1888)
Alanson William Edwards was born in Lorain county, Ohio on August 27, 1840. He moved with his family to Macoupin county, Illinois in 1848. He was a student at McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois from 1856-1857. After college, he worked as a railroad express agent and telegraph operator in Gillespie, Illinois. When the war broke out, he enlisted as a private with Co. I, 122 Illinois Infantry. He served in the Western Army beginning in Columbus, Kentucky and was later a clerk in the office of Gen. Grenville M. Dodge at Corinth, Mississippi. In April 1863, Gen. Dodge was given the order to organize the 1st Alabama Union Cavalry, made up of refugees from the mountains of northern Alabama. Edwards was appointed 1st Lieutenant and adjutant, and later appointed captain of the L troop of this group. He served with this unit at Rome and Marietta, Georgia and marched on Savannah. At Savannah he was detached from the unit and was made the assistant adjutant general of the 4th Division, 15th Army Corps and served in this position until the end of the war. On March 13, 1865 he was made major for his gallant service. After the war, he settled at Bunker Hill, Illinois where he operated the Union Gazette newspaper. At Bunker Hill he was inducted into the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1870 he married Elizabeth Robertson and they had seven children. From 1871 to 1872 he served as warden of the Illinois Penitentiary at Joliet. He spent some time in Chicago after the Great Fire, and moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1876. In 1878 he came to Fargo and was editor of the Republican newspaper. He started the Daily Argus in 1879. He was elected mayor of Fargo on April 8, 1887. Under a new incorporation plan the mayor presided over council meetings, instead of council president. Mayor Edwards was the first to preside in this new, more powerful position. He served as mayor until 1888. He lost the Daily Argus In 1890, and started a new paper the Daily Forum, he then purchased the Republican and consolidated the two newspapers. He served in the ND State Legislature from 1895-1896. In 1902, he was made American consul-general at Montreal, a position he held until 1906 when his health began to fail. He returned to Fargo, and died on February 14, 1908.

Seth Newman (1888-1890)
Seth Newman was born on December 7, 1836 in Russia, Herkimer County, New York. His early education was at Fairfield Academy. He studied law at Buffalo, New York and interned at the law firm of Sarwin & Lockwood in that city. He was admitted to the bar in 1860. He practiced law at Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1861 he moved to Iowa, practiced law in Waterloo and Independence. He married Laura F. Newell and had two daughters. In 1882 he moved to Fargo and formed a law practice with V.S. Stone until 1891 when he went into practice with William C. Rosser. In 1893 he joined the firm Spalding & Phelps, which eventually became Newman, Spalding & Stambaugh. He later withdrew from this firm and joined Holt and Frame. He held interest in the Fargo Gas & Electric Co. and was a stockholder and director of the First National Bank. He was elected mayor in 1888. He resigned as mayor on March 24, 1890 due to a conflict of interest in a city contract. He served in the N.D. State Legislature from 1893-1894. In September 1899, the State Bar of North Dakota was formed and Seth Newman served as the organizations first president. He died in Fargo on August 13, 1906. As a hobby, Seth Newman enjoyed inventing gadgets. One such invention allowed him to operate his house furnace while lying in bed by means of buttons and levers.

(This page is a work in progress, more biographical sketches to come in the near future)

Wilbur F. Ball (1890-1892)
Emerson H. Smith (1892-1894)
Wilbur F. Ball (1894-1896)
John A. Johnson (1896-1902) -- See above biography
William D. Sweet (1902-1904)
Aurelius L. Wall (1904-1906)
John A. Johnson (1906-1907) -- See above biography
Peter Elliott (1907-1910)
Vernon R. Lovell (1910-1912)
William D. Smith (1912-1913)
Henry F. Emery ( 1913-1917)
Alex Stern (1917-1921)
Hamilton W. Geary (1921-1925)
John H. Dahl (1925-1929)
Alf T. Lynner (1929-1933)
Fred O. Olsen (1933-1946)
Charles A. Dawson (1946-1950)
Murray A. Baldwin (1950-1954)
Hershel Lashkowitz (1954-1974)
Richard A. Hentges (1974-1978)
Jon Lindgren (1978-1994)
Bruce Furness (1994-2006)