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Downtown West FargoPhoto: Billybob2002 · CC BY 4.0
DHistory
History · West Fargo

West Fargo’s post office opened in 1926

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns · #20 of 23 in North Dakota. What drives it

Most of West Fargo was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1940.

1926first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Fargo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Fargo began

When was West Fargo founded?

1926

The West Fargo post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Haggart (1883) and Garfield (1895), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 707 in 19402020 census: 38,626100 years

How historic is West Fargo?

D

More historic than 6% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first West Fargo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives West Fargo’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Fargo is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #20 of 23 in North Dakota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Fargo’s overall grade.
Founding era1926, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.0) · typical ND town 7.2% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical ND town 2.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 6%
NewerOlder
North Dakota towns of 2,500+ (23)Ahead of 14%

North Dakota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical North Dakota town has 2.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so West Fargo’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (22% of North Dakota towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about West Fargo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s West Fargo, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start West Fargo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Fargo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRick's Bar and Liquor sign: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

West Fargo’s post office has been open since 1926. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Haggart
1883–1885
Garfield
1895–1899
West Fargo
1926–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
RiversideSouth West Fargo
Gone or out of use
CanfieldlocaleWest Fargo Airportairport
1cemetery inside West Fargo
Faith Lutheran Church Columbarium

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How West Fargo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Fargo.

Read it all →

West Fargo began as a whistle stop called "Sheyenne Crossing" on the Northern Pacific Railway, named for the nearby Sheyenne River.

The settlement was renamed "Haggartville", and then "Haggart", after the owner of the land, John E. Haggart, a businessman who served as postmaster, U.S. Marshall, and first sheriff of Cass County. Settlers began arriving in the area, and in 1876 the first school was built, School District No. 6.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Fargo, 1883 to 1994

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Haggart post office opens
  3. 1885Post officeThe Haggart post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Garfield post office opens
  5. 1895On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1899Post officeThe Garfield post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1926Post officeThe West Fargo post office opens
  9. 1980In the archiveRick's Bar and Liquor sign
  10. 1985Born hereZac Ista is born here
  11. 1986Born hereTyler Roehl is born here
  12. 1991Born hereMatt Strahm is born here
  13. 1994Born hereAndy Young is born here
By decade

West Fargo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Rick's Bar and Liquor sign1980Rick's Bar and Liquor sign
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today16 recent
The 1908 Cass County District Court building, displayed at Bonanzaville, an outdoor history museum of the Cass County H…2021The 1908 Cass County District Court building, display…An array of metal barley silos next to the North Dakota Golden Growers Cooperative headquarters2021An array of metal barley silos next to the North Dako…Doorway of the first house built in the Red River Valley near present-day Fargo, North Dakota, displayed at Bonanzavill…2021Doorway of the first house built in the Red River Val…The first house built in the Red River Valley near present-day Fargo, North Dakota, displayed at Bonanzaville, an outdo…2021The first house built in the Red River Valley near pr…The first house built in the Red River Valley near present-day Fargo, North Dakota, displayed at Bonanzaville, an outdo…2021The first house built in the Red River Valley near pr…Imposing water tower at Bonanzaville, an outdoor history museum of the Cass County Historical Society2021Imposing water tower at Bonanzaville, an outdoor hist…Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham West Fargo - Hotel Room2018Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham West Fargo - Hotel R…West Fest Parade 2016 - West Fargo High School2016West Fest Parade 2016 - West Fargo High SchoolWest Fest - Fire Department and Police Department2016West Fest - Fire Department and Police DepartmentWest Fargo North Dakota City Hall2016West Fargo North Dakota City HallWest Fargo Main Avenue Srv road and 15th Street NW IMG 07392012West Fargo Main Avenue Srv road and 15th Street NW IM…JonLevin2008JonLevinJeffBlando2008JeffBlandoDanaStrum2008DanaStrumNuge22007Nuge2Nuge12007Nuge1
On the map

West Fargo on the map, 1895 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Fargo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

West Fargo on the 1895 USGS mapWest Fargo on the 1985 USGS map1895Fargo sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Fargo.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rick's Bar and Liquor sign
Retake this viewRick's Bar and Liquor sign, 1980

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on West Fargo’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

West Fargo, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,0001940196019802000202038,626

Grew from 707 people in 1940 to 38,626 in 2020, more than tenfold.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Fargo’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in West Fargo

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Matt StrahmAmerican professional baseball pitcher · b. 1991
A
Andy YoungAmerican professional baseball infielder born 1… · b. 1994
T
Tyler RoehlAmerican football coaches · b. 1986
Z
Zac IstaAmerican attorney and politician · b. 1985
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Fargo30 historic placesBMapleton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBarnes TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townReed TownshipIts storyDRaymond TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHoraceIts storyC−

Questions about West Fargo’s history

What year was West Fargo founded?

The West Fargo post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does West Fargo rank for history?

West Fargo is more historic than 6% of U.S. towns, #20 of 23 in North Dakota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in West Fargo?

2% of West Fargo’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 7.2% for a North Dakota town; the median home was built in 2004.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.