Red River Floods and Urban Development Photograph Collection
Collection
Identifier: Photo 2018
Scope and Contents
The Red River Flood & Urban Development Photograph Collection is made up mostly of aerial photographs taken by the company Appraisal Services, Inc. based in Fargo, N.D. They give a record of areas of the Red River Valley affected by flooding between 1969 and 1989, and areas of North Dakota urban development and growth from the late 1980s and early 1990s.The collection is divided up into three series: Flood Series, Fargo-Moorhead Urban Development Series, and the North Dakota Urban Development Series.
The Flood Series contains aerial photographs of four major floods of the Red River Valley and primarily stay around Fargo-Moorhead and the southern valley region. The 1969 Flood has 10 black and white, enlarged aerial photographs taken by the photographer Chet Gebert on April 14, 1969. They are entirely taken in the Fargo-Moorhead city limits and include the neighborhoods around Cardinal Muench Seminary, Edgewood, Ridgewood Addition, Mickelson Park, Belmont Addition, Woodlawn Park, South Brookdale, and River Oaks. The 1978 Flood images were taken on April 4, 1978, and include aerial snapshots over the Harwood, Argusville, Georgetown, Moorhead, Fargo, Forest River, Heritage Hills, Oxbow, Wild Rice, Horace, West Fargo and rural locations in between these communities. There is a hand drawn flight path for the 1978 flood images with the Finding Aid in Folder 1 of this collection. The 1978 flood photographs were originally housed in a photo album, and the original order has been maintained. The original negatives for the 1978 flood images are housed in the 35 mm B&W negative collection between negative numbers 577 and 584.
The 1979 flood images are all snapshot aerials of the Fargo-Moorhead area including, Forest River, Heritage Hills, West Fargo Reile’s Acres, and Harwood. There is a combination of black and white and color images in the 1979 flood aerials. Original negatives for the 1979 Flood images are housed in the 35mm B&W collection under numbers 572 to 576, and the color negatives under c35mm -143 to 144. These photographs were maintained in the original order as they were received at the time of donation. The 1989 flood aerials are all color aerial snapshots over the West Fargo, Horace, Wahpeton, Breckinridge, Oxbow, Heritage Hills, Orchard Glenn, Fargo, Moorhead, Briarwood, Forrest Hills, Hickson, and River Oaks areas. These images were previously numbered by the donor, and this order has been maintained in the arrangement of these images. The original color negatives for the 1989 Flood images are located under c35mm -169 to 174. The Fargo-Moorhead Urban Development Series consists of a number of aerials over areas of new development in and around the Fargo-Moorhead area. Most of these images were likely taken in the late 1980s or early 1990s. There is a set of numbered images taken on June 20, 1988 and February 15, 1989, over the Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead areas. These photographs have been organized under the original numerical order assigned by the donor. The original negatives for this dated set of images are located under c35mm -164 to 168. The North Dakota Urban Development Series includes the towns of Beulah, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Langdon, Underwood, Valley City, and Wahpeton. These images seem to focus on newer areas of development rather the central business districts in and around these communities. In the Beulah and Underwood files, there are aerials over the power plants at Coyote and Coal Creek Stations.
The 1979 flood images are all snapshot aerials of the Fargo-Moorhead area including, Forest River, Heritage Hills, West Fargo Reile’s Acres, and Harwood. There is a combination of black and white and color images in the 1979 flood aerials. Original negatives for the 1979 Flood images are housed in the 35mm B&W collection under numbers 572 to 576, and the color negatives under c35mm -143 to 144. These photographs were maintained in the original order as they were received at the time of donation. The 1989 flood aerials are all color aerial snapshots over the West Fargo, Horace, Wahpeton, Breckinridge, Oxbow, Heritage Hills, Orchard Glenn, Fargo, Moorhead, Briarwood, Forrest Hills, Hickson, and River Oaks areas. These images were previously numbered by the donor, and this order has been maintained in the arrangement of these images. The original color negatives for the 1989 Flood images are located under c35mm -169 to 174. The Fargo-Moorhead Urban Development Series consists of a number of aerials over areas of new development in and around the Fargo-Moorhead area. Most of these images were likely taken in the late 1980s or early 1990s. There is a set of numbered images taken on June 20, 1988 and February 15, 1989, over the Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead areas. These photographs have been organized under the original numerical order assigned by the donor. The original negatives for this dated set of images are located under c35mm -164 to 168. The North Dakota Urban Development Series includes the towns of Beulah, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Langdon, Underwood, Valley City, and Wahpeton. These images seem to focus on newer areas of development rather the central business districts in and around these communities. In the Beulah and Underwood files, there are aerials over the power plants at Coyote and Coal Creek Stations.
Dates
- 1969-1990s.
Creator
- Eriksmoen, Neal. (Person)
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection are held by the Institute.
History
The images in the Red River Floods & Urban Development Photograph Collection were compiled and taken by Neal Eriksmoen, president and appraiser with Appraisal Services, Inc. in Fargo, N.D. The images document flooding and real estate development in Fargo-Moorhead and other communities in North Dakota.
The Red River of the North is highly susceptible to spring flooding; this is due to several reasons. First the river flows northward, meaning that the spring thaw takes place in the southern portions of the
watershed first and gradually moves northward causing the drainage of melt water to be impeded by ice jams along the course of the river. The Red River Valley was at one time the bottom of Glacial Lake Agassiz, and it is one of the flattest expanses of land in the world. The Red River is a relatively young river, only about 9,300 years old in its present course. Due to this fact it has had little time to form a significant valley, leading the surrounding land to become a floodplain in times of excess precipitation.
Urban development began in the Red River Valley in the 1870s, and three major metropolitan areas grew along the banks of the river south of the United States-Canadian border; those being WahpetonBreckinridge, Fargo-Moorhead, and Grand Forks-East Grand Forks. The Red River Valley was ideal for growing spring wheat, and massive bonanza farms were developed by the railroads to draw attention to the regions agricultural productivity. This drew international attention to the region and began a boom in the late 1870s and 1880s. The land was soon filled with settlers, making the urban centers locations for trade and commerce.
In Fargo-Moorhead, the center of the city was located in the historic downtown district for nearly a century. About 1970, urban development began to shift toward the south and west. This was partially a result of the completion of Interstate Highway 29 and Interstate Highway 94 as well as the construction of West Acres Shopping Center in 1972 near the intersection of these two Interstate Highways. The governmental and financial hub of the city remained downtown, but the retail center moved toward the West Acres area. With the success of West Acres, other businesses and developers chose to locate in this area as more people desired to live closer to shopping, work and other amenities. Similar growth patterns took place in other regional communities during this same time period.
Extent
747 Photographic Prints (747 photographic prints.)
122 Photographic Negatives (122 35mm color negatives.)
66 Photographic Negatives (66 35mm black and white negatives.)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Red River Flood & Urban Development Photograph Collection is made up mostly of aerial photographs taken by the company Appraisal Services, Inc. based in Fargo, N.D. They give a record of areas of the Red River Valley affected by flooding between 1969 and 1989, and areas of North Dakota urban development and growth from the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Provenance
Donated by Neal A. Eriksmoen, 2008 (Acc. 2843).
Property rights
The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
Creator
- Eriksmoen, Neal. (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Red River Floods & Urban Development Photograph Collection
- Description rules
- Gihc
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu