The first utility company in Fargo was the Fargo Gas Light and Fuel Company,which was given a franchise in October 1881. The company erected a gas plant was erected at the intersection of NP Avenue and 11th or 12th Street north, and the first gas was delivered to the gas mains in 1885 for local streetlights. The gas was of poor quality and each individual streetlamp had to be turned on and off daily. Gas was a fire hazard for indoor use and left a film of soot.
The Fargo Electric Light and Power Company was granted its franchise on November 7, 1881. They built their first electric generating plant in 1882, located approximately at 8th Street and NP Avenue. Electric lights shown for the first time in Fargo on April 12, 1883. The Argus editorialized the next day that "Last night Fargo was radiant."
One of the company's main purposes was street lighting. Fargo's earliest street lighting came from two 160-foot-high lighting towers that, according to city specifications, had to be bright enough so people could read "coarse print" a half-mile away. One light tower was erected at the intersection of the NP tracks and Broadway. A second tower was erected at Broadway and 4th Avenue. These towers were destroyed by a tornado in 1897 and never rebuilt.
Fargo, North Dakota
Gas and Electric Service
On May 1, 1888 a new company, the Fargo Incandescent Light Company, was granted a franchise. In 1889 the Fargo Electric Light and Power Company merged with this new entity to become the Fargo Gas and Electric Company. A new electric plant was built adjacent to the gas plant, and the old equipment was moved to this site.
In 1898 the Hughes Electric Company was given a franchise. They built their new plant along the Northern Pacific tracks, across from the depot, and behind the Herbst department store. The grounds were leased from the railroad. This new company was incorporated by Alexander Hughes and his son Edmond Hughes. The Hughes family was important in the manufacture of the first electric ranges, which later became Hotpoint, Inc., the appliance manufacturing subsidiary of General Electric.
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The engraving above left looks south on Broadway. The three story building south of the tower was to become Moody's. The picture above right is later as the Yerxa store has been erected just north of the Headquarters Hotel.