There aren't many books with information about Fargo but here are some that I have found with brief summaries and reviews. If you have other recommendations, let me know. A number of the books listed below are out of print and may be difficult to find.

Aasen, Larry. North Dakota Postcards 1900-1930. Arcadia; Chicago, IL; 2000. Based on his mother's album of 488 postcards; approximately 250 in book (about 20 of Fargo). Lovely thought but one-third are holiday cards that could have been mailed in North Carolina. Although a disappointing book to me, it does have a few postcard images of many cities in ND.

Aasen, Larry. North Dakota. Arcadia; Chicago, IL; 2000. This is sort of a companion book to Aasen's other book. This one is based on photographs taken by his parents, supplemented by material from other sources. There are a few images of Fargo. This book is probably a very meaningful and sentimental remembrance for Aasen. Less so for the rest of us.

Arvold, Alfred G. The Little Country Theater. The Macmillan Company; New York; 1923. Arvold founded the Little Country Theater at NDAC/NDSU. This books extolls the virtue of theater in bringing "life" to rural America. Has historical interest but not exciting reading.

Bartlett, David. Glimpses of North Dakota. North Dakota Pan-American Exposition Committee, 1901. A dozen or so photographs of Fargo in 1900.

Bjornson, Julian. The Fargo College. Unpublished term paper. Date and school unknown.

Board of Trade of the City of Fargo. The County of Cass and the City of Fargo, 1888. Republican Steam Printing House; Fargo, Dakota Territory; 1888. [Reprinted edition by The Box Elder Bug Press; Fargo, North Dakota; no date]. Probably published in 1975 for Fargo's anniversary. A few pictures with interesting material about very early Fargo. Paperback about 50 pages. An original is probably near impossible to find but the reprint should be available in used book stores.

Chamber of Commerce of Fargo, Dakota. The Red River Valley, the Grea Wheat Lands, and Fargo, Metropolis of the Northwest (Second Annual Report of the Chamber of Commerce). Daily Argus; Fargo, Dakota Territory, 1881. [Reprint edition, no publisher or date]. Probably published in 1950 or 1975 for Fargo's anniversary. Few pictures but interesting material about very early Fargo. Paperback about 100 pages. An original is probably near impossible to find but the reprint should be available in used book stores.

Chenoweth, Richard and Mark Strand. AC/SU. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies; Fargo, ND; 1985. Marvelous book documenting the history of NDAC/NDSU in pictures. Not as detailed as Hunter's book but also not as dry. Many great pictures. Highly recommended book.

Cowdrey, Mary Boynton (editor). The Checkered Years. Caxton Printers: Caldwell, Idaho; 1937. Excerpts from the diary of Mary Dodge Woodward written during the years 1884-1889 while living on a bonanza farm eight miles from Fargo. Almost nothing about Fargo but a charming and interesting firsthand account of farm life in the Red River Valley.

Dakota Business College. Dakotan. Dakota Business College; Fargo, ND; 1938. This is an "annual" for the graduating class of 1938. I don't know if this was published every year or for what years. The embossed leather-covered booklet contains interesting pictures of the staff, students, facilities, and activities of the college.

Dalrymple, John Stewart. Oliver Dalrymple, Bonanza Farmer. Privately printed; Minneapolis; 1960. A very nice personal memoir of the Dalrymple family.

Drache, Hiram M. The Challenge of the Prairie. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies; Fargo, ND; 1970. Very good history of the Red River Valley. Focuses more on the Minnesota side but has interesting material on Fargo.

Drache, Hiram M. The Day of the Bonanza. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies; Fargo, ND; 1964. "The" book on bonanza farming in the Red River Valley. If the subject interests you, this is the book to read.

Fargo College. Wau-Kan. Fargo, ND. The Wau-Kan was the yearbook published by Fargo College. I am not sure of the first year but the last one published was for the 1923 graduating class. Unfortunately the school closed in June of 1922.

Fargo Historic Preservation Commission. The History and Growth of the City of Fargo.Knight Printing Company; Fargo, ND; 2001. Nice paperback book of about 75 pages. Should be easy to find in Fargo. Nice little book.

Fargo-Moorhead Centennial Corporation. A Century Together - A History of Fargo, North Dakota & Moorhead, Minnesota. Fargo, ND; 1975. The best book on the history of Fargo (and Moorhead!) that I have seen. Many great old pictures. It is most often seen in softcover but there was a hardcover edition of 2000 as well.

Fargo Diamond Jubilee Committee. Official Program: The Fargo Diamond Jubilee. Fargo, ND; 1950. Includes a longish article on Fargo history and a number of older pictures.

Federal Writer's Project, Works Progress Administration. North Dakota: A Guide to the Northern Prairie State. Oxford University Press; New York, NY; 1938. Sort of a tourist guide but has an interesting 15-page chapter on Fargo.

Forness, Palmer. Fire and Smoke, 100 Years of Progress, 1875-1975. Privately printed. Simply the the best, most comprehensive history of Fargo fire fighting through 1975. Very hard to find; very well done.

Forum Communications Company. The 20th Century in Review: A Look Back at the Past 100 Years. Fargo Communications Co.; Fargo, ND; 2000. A great concept but disappointing in execution. A history of Fargo on a CD-ROM. Compact, easy to use, with Quick-Time "movies," nice graphics and, of course, nostalgic sounds. The content, unfortunately, is a bit superficial; worth buying but keep your expectations low.

Galvin, Sister M. Camillus. From Acorn to Oak. The Presentation Sisters; Fargo, ND; 1968. History of the Presentation Sisters from 1775 to 1968. Excellent description of the sisters' work in Fargo.

Good Samaritan Institute. GSI. Good Samaritan Institute; Faro, ND; 1937. The first (and perhaps only) year book published by the short-lived Institute. Many pictures of the staff, students, and activities.

Grasssick, J. North Dakota Medicine, Sketches and Abstracts. North Dakota Medical Association, 1926. Primarily concrned with North Dakota Medical Asociation and its past presidents (no surprise; look who published the book). Short histories of early doctors in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Minot, and some other areas. Histories brief (5 pages or so each) but not seen elsewhere.

Heritage Publications. Red River Valley Memories. Heritage Publications; Hendrum, MN. A bimonthly magazine-size publication concerning the history and memories about the red River Valley. At $3 per issue this is a steal. About 50 pages per issue. Many illustrations. Written by residents. Buy it; it's great.

Heritage Publications. Fargo, North Dakota, From Frontier Village to All America City, 1875-2000. Heritage Publications; Hendrum, MN. 170 pages of articles from the Fargo Forum over the years with illustrations from the North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies. Many illustrations. Buy it (it's only $20); it's great.

Hunter, William C. Beacon Across the Prairie; North Dakota's Land-Grant College. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies; Fargo, ND; 1961. "The" book on the history of North Dakota State University from its beginnings to 1960. If the subject interests you, this is the book to read.

Kelsey, Vera. Red River Runs North!. Harper & Brothers; New York; 1951. Interesting and well-written history of the Red River Valley.

Lounsberry, Colonel Clement A. North Dakota, History and People. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company; Chicago; 1916. Three volumes of 600+ pages each! The first volume is primarily about native Americans and the politics of Dakota Territory. Not much about Fargo, although Lounsberry lived there many years [he helped found the Fargo Forum]. The second and third volumes contain biographies. It was the custom of the time to pay to have your biography included and to buy a copy of the book. This helped subsidize publishing and ensured at least limited sales. The biographies, of course, are somewhat eclectic as a result. The set is fairly rare and not recommended to the casual reader. There are better values elsewhere.

Manitoba Department of Cultural Affairs and Historical Resources. The Anson Northup. 1982. Twelve page brochure. Most comprehensive treatment of this steamboat.

McMullen, Cathy. Crossings: A Photographic Document of Fargo, North Dakota. North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies; Fargo, ND; 1995.

Moorhead State University. Fargo on Broadway. Moorhead State University; Moorhead, MN; 2000. A marvelous book prepared by students in an MSU documentary photography course. Highly recommended.

North Dakota Conference Historical Society. History of the Methodist Church in North Dakota and Dakota Territory. Parthenon Press; Nashville, TN; 1960.

North Dakota Education Association (Fargo Chapter). The First Fifty Years of the Fargo Public Schools. 1957; Fargo, ND. A 26-page unpublished document. Excellent background material on early schools, teachers, and the Board of Education.

Olstad, Geneva Roth. Main Street, North Dakota, Volume II. Arcadia Publishing; Chicago. IL; 2000. Contains 180 real photo postcards on 180 ND towns. Fun book. The Fargo entry is a postcard of the old Fargo Hotel.

Oyos, Lynwood. Following in His Steps: The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society 1922-1997. Ex Machina Publishing Company: Sioux Falls, SD; 1998. Comprehensive history of the Society with a chapter on Fargo's Good Samaritan Institute.

Ramsey, Ronald Lanier (editor). Fargo-Moorhead; A Guide to Historic Architecture. Fargo-Moorhead Board of Realtors; Fargo, N.D; 1975. Includes 20 pages about Moorhead. The Norene Roberts book is better but this is a nice little book.

Ramsey, Douglas and Larry Skroch. The Raging Red. The 1950 Red River Valley Flood. Valley Heritage Press; Grand Forks, ND; 1996. Best book on the 1950 flood. Focuses primarily on Grand Forks.

Roberts, Norene. Fargo's Heritage. Fargo Heritage Society, Inc.; Fargo, ND; 1983. A great book with a wealth architectural information. Includes a large section about Fargo residences, an area seldom addressed. Highly recommended.

Robinson, Elwyn B. History of North Dakota. University of Nebraska Press; Lincoln, NE; 1966. Very good general history of North Dakota. Little information on Fargo.

Vik, David R. Early Bridges of Fargo and Moorhead, 1871-1893.. Graduate Thesis; Moorhead State University; July 1984. Best source of information on the subject.

Wemett, William Marks. The Story of the Flickertail State. Self-published; Valley City, ND: 1923. Written primarily for children. Nice little book about ND with about 10 pages on Fargo. Out of print, hard to find, not a first choice.

------. Fargo Blue Book and Souvenir. Record Publishing Company; Fargo, ND; 1899. Great little guide to Fargo at the turn of the century but nearly impossible to find.