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Although
many residents of Fargo and Moorhead are used to the hum of a passing
mid-night freight train, or that leisurely wait at the tracks on
their way to work, a majority are unaware of the history that lies
beneath the miles of steel ties which burrow though the metro region.
Fargo and Moorhead began attracting
larger numbers of residents in the mid 1800’s. In 1871, the
Northern Pacific Railroad built a bridge across the Red River, connecting
Fargo and Moorhead. “There was no Fargo or Moorhead before
the railroad,” says Clay County historian Mark Peihl. After
seven months of construction, the bridge was complete. Residents
were now able to easily move from city to city. Prior to the bridge,
and its railroad, steamboats were relied upon for almost all transportation
between Fargo and Winnipeg. With flourishing trade and commerce
in the area, Fargo-Moorhead soon became known as the “Gateway
of the West” to early homesteaders.
In the poem, “Train Lullaby,”
written by Moorhead resident Mary Pryor, the existence of the railroad
and the area towns are described:
We are one of those towns strung on
the double
steel
stretched from ocean to ocean
or the nearer nodes in a net
that spans rivers and pierces hills,
and thrums
when the grooved wheels fret.
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Following
the opening of this bridge, two small communities grew on
the west side of the river. A tent town, “Fargo on the
Prairie” was the headquarters to the Northern Pacific
engineers and their families. It also was home to Army officers
that accompanied the railroad engineers. The second community,
“Fargo in the Woods,” was a wild place, consisting
of huts, log houses, tents, and even caves built into the
banks of the river. This was a community made up of saloons
and bordellos, but also home to many respectable citizens
of Fargo.
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The
next 20 years brought more Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railway
lines throughout the counties, which spawned many towns along the
lines, including Dilworth, Glyndon, and Hawley. Immigrants flocked
to these areas. For instance, Dilworth was made up mostly of Italian
immigrants who worked on the railroad at the Dilworth station.
Northern
Pacific Caboose |
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Northern
Pacific Steamshovel |
The
Northern Pacific passenger depot was completed in 1898. It contained
two huge fireplaces and a restaurant, and of course a waiting room
and ticket booths. The depot was a very important part of life in
Fargo. It was where new residents would arrive if they came in by
train. The depot was later renovated and reopened as a brewery and
restaurant in 1994, but closed again February 24, 2001.
In a poem written by James Wright,
a scene from one of these passenger depots is depicted. “Outside
Fargo, North Dakota,” easily helps a reader understand what
it may have been like at any time in the past when Fargo was beginning
to become the town it is today.
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Along the sprawled body of
the derailed
Great Northern freight car,
I strike a match slowly and
lift it slowly.
No wind.
Beyond town, three heavy white
horses
Wade all the way to their shoulders
In a silo shadow.
Suddenly the freight car lurches.
The door slams back, a man with
a flashlight
Calls me good evening.
I nod as a write good evening,
lonely.
And sick for home.
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The
past century has brought many changes in the way of life of
residents in the Valley. Although the rails are not used as
much for everyday necessities, the railroad is still a major
key in transportation in the area, as well as across the country.
Dave Kinslow, a worker for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe
station in Dilworth says, “We are just as busy today
as we were 20 years ago. These days however, we see more transportation
of commercial goods and other transportation vehicles, like
cars and trucks.”
The railroad in the Red River
Valley communities has been a major role in the lives of many.
With housing developments literally going up next to the tracks,
residents of these communities have become almost immune to
the constant noise and rattle of a passing train.
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In Pryor’s
poem, a setting of one of these homes is described:
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We are one of those towns where
a tremor under
the floor
triggers on quake of panic.
We half ignore
the out-of-the-distance hoarse
arrhythmic wall
and the rumbling crescendo and
decrescendo
but strain our throats to finish
a joke or tale.
Though gone are the parlor car
and the daily mail,
the freight has the right of
way and the right of
roar.
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We
are one of those towns strung on the double
steels,
a cluster of lights in the arm
of a dark river.
On a snow muffled night when the
traffic hushes,
courting the first sleep and warmer
toes
with the quilt nuzzling the chin
we feel, or imagine we feel, the
mattress quiver
and a stretch and a yawn later
a tremor begin
and we wait for the long halloo
of the hollow horn
that will bay its way through
town,
portentous, antiquated, and forlorn,
till we roll into a dream, without
a shiver.
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The
Fargo-Moorhead area is rich with railroad history. While it has
had a large impact on these communities, the memories of those whom
created these steel highways have been long forgotten. As residents
or visitors to the area, this history should not be overlooked.
As it has been said, “In the beginning was the railroad.”
Photos
courtesy of the Clay County Historical Society, Moorhead, Minnesota
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