Evening Post

This short-lived newspaper was published in 1882 and 1883 in Fargo. It is advertised as 'Newsy, Spicy, Interestin, Compact.' In 1882 the publisher is Fox & Sanborn, but in 1883 it is published by brothers R. C. and J. S. Sanborn. Only two of 139 issues are known to survive, preserved at the Institute for Regional Studies, NDSU.

Fargo Forum

Published by Major Alonzo W. Edwards & Colonel H.C. Plumley from Nov. 17, 1891 to October 1894. Merged with Fargo Daily Republican to form the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican

Formed by the union of Fargo Forum and Fargo Daily Republican in 1894. Published by daily by A.W. Edwards & H.C. Plumley from Oct. 26, 1894 to July 20, 1957. Newspaper sold in 1912 to J.P. Dotson of Crookston, MN. Sold again in 1917 to Norman D. Black. Purchased the Moorhead Daily News in 1955 to form the Fargo Forum, Daily Republican and Moorhead Daily News.

Morning Call

Published daily by J.J. Jordan from 1898 to 1901. It was the official paper of the City of Fargo in 1901. It merged with the Daily Argus in 1901 to form the Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus.

Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus

Published daily by J.J. Jordan from 1901 to Mar. 16, 1909. Official paper of the City of Fargo 1901-1903, 1909; Cass County, 1909. Formed by the union of Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus. The paper merged with the Fargo Daily News to form The Fargo Daily News, The Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus.

Fargo Daily News

Published by the News Pub. Co. from July 1, 1908 to Mar. 16, 1909. Merged with the Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus to form the Fargo Daily News, the Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus.

Fargo Daily Tribune

Fargo's morning paper the Courier News had been purchased by the Nonpartisan League and had fallen on hard times. J.P. Dotson, who had sold the Fargo Forum to Norman Black in 1917 and left Fargo, returned to take control of the News April 18, 1923. He changed the name to the Fargo Daily Tribune. Dotson did not fare better financially than his predecessor and he sold the Tribune to Norman B. Black for $60,000 on March 6, 1924. The Tribune paper was subsequently purchased from Black (who had bought it personally) by Forum Publishing Company and the Tribune ceased publication after less than a year of existence.

 

C.A. Lounsberry -------- A.B. McDonald --------- W.J. Higgins
There was also a Weekly Argus and a Sunday Argus at various times. The paper continued to be published until 1901 when it merged with the Morning Call to form the Morning Call and Fargo Daily Argus. Pictured to the left is office of the Daily Argus and the Record (an illustrated monthly). Below are pictured C.A. Lounsberry (Editor of the Daily Argus and the Record), A.B. McDonald (Manager and Treasurer of the Record Publishing Company), and W.J. Higgins (Secretary and General Solicitor of the Record Publishing Company).

Every city has a hometown newspaper and Fargo is no different. In fact, there have been a number of newspapers published in Fargo. After many mergers, however, today's The Forum can trace its roots back to the 1873 Fargo Express. For more information, I suggest two online sources:

http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndirs/collections/newspapers/

http://www.state.nd.us/hist/newshome.htm

The information below attempts to list the various Fargo newspapers in rough chronological order. Separate pages describe the The Forum in more detail.

Fargo Express

In the late 1870s, William G. Fargo of the Wells Fargo Express Company offered $500 for the establishment of a paper named the "Fargo Express." The first contenders for the prize (A. H. Moore and Seth Boney) were unsuccessful because their paper was printed in Glyndon, Minnesota, although it was called the Fargo Express. Moore and Boney had been publishing the Glyndon Gazette, the first newspaper in the Red River Valley. After moving operations to Fargo, the paper was awarded the prize after publishing their first issue on January 1, 1874. Thus, the Fargo Express was the first newspaper printed in Fargo. It was published weekly by A.H. Moore & Co. until 1875 when it merged with the Glyndon Gazette to form the Fargo Times.

Fargo Times Building (Minnessota Historical Society)
A new building was built (see photograph to the tright) but Edwards was not able to recover from the losses of the fire and James J. Hill (the Great Northern railroad magnate who held controlling interest in the paper) forced Edwards from the paper and George K. Shaw, a noted Minneapolis editor, took over in October 1891.

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Fargo, North Dakota Newspapers

Fargo Times and Fargo Weekly Times

Published weekly by E.B. Chambers from 1875 to Dec. 2, 1880. Formed by the union of Glyndon Gazette and Fargo Express. An annual subscrition to the Times was $1. Sold in 1880 to E.D. Barker who published the Fargo Weekly Times from Dec. 9, 1880 to 1881 when it was absorbed by the Fargo Daily Republican.

Fargo Daily Republican (Fargo Weekly Republican)

Published from September 25, 1878 to Oct. 25, 1894. The paper was established by Dr. J.B. Hall, S.G. Roberts, A.J. Harwood and others. The Republican was located on Seventh Street South, across the street form the Argus. Absorbed the Fargo Times. Published as both a weekly and a daily at various times. Purchased by A.C. Jordan of Minneapolis and later by his brother, J.J. Jordan. Merged with the Fargo Forum to form the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican.

Daily Argus

The Daily Argus was established in 1879 by Major Alanson W. Edwards (making it the oldest daily newspaper in North Dakota). The location of the building was described by Edwards as "the rear end of the lot on Front Street next to where Mr. DeLendricie's store is now." The building faced Seventh Street. An 1883 etching of the building is shown to the right.Fire destroyed the Argus building on March 26, 1886.