Fargo College Records

Collection

Identifier: Mss 153

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Fargo College Records consists of legal documents, Board of Trustees meeting minutes, Fargo College history manuscripts, newspaper clippings, student records, commencement materials, various publications from the college, Fargo College cornerstone laying, correspondence, and a variety of materials in the subject files. The Legal Documents Series includes articles of incorporation, college by-laws, a list of bondholders, and various other legal papers from 1903 to 1922. The Board of Trustees Series charts the semiannual meetings of the Board of Trustees from 1882 to 1922. The meeting minutes are very complete. The volume is arranged chronologically and in handwritten form up to July 1915, when typed minutes were then glued to the pages. The Fargo College History Manuscripts Series is divided into several parts. It is a photocopy with the original manuscripts remaining in the Frederick E. Stratton Papers (Mss 31). Dr. Stratton wrote the history in installments which was published in the Blue & Gold (Volume 24 and 25, Nov., 1920 - June, 1922). It details the college's history from 1882 through 1904. The Newspaper Clippings Series is divided into six files. The activities file contains articles about student organizations, athletics, and forensics. The alumni file contains articles about Fargo College alumni and their activities. The commencement and faculty files contain various articles pertaining to their respective titles. The general file contains articles about the college as a whole. The student news file contains articles about student achievements, human interest stories, etc. The clippings span from 1899 to 1969. The Student Records Series is broken down into grade sheets and record books. The grade sheets are arranged chronologically with each year divided alphabetically by instructor's name. The record books give the grades of students who attended Fargo College. Record Book I which is bound alphabetically, but in reverse order, lists students' names and, for some, their hometown, guardian names and age at time of enrollment. Record Book II is indexed, and also contains some of the same information as in the other volume. Although dates are given in both books, no indication is given as to how complete the books are, and it appears this series is not complete for all students who attended the college.

The Commencement Series contains programs and invitations that pertain to Fargo College commencement ceremonies for 1907, 1909, 1920, and 1915-1922. The Publication Series contains publications issued by the college from 1891 to 1923. The catalogs run from 1891 to 1921. The Student Handbooks span from 1906 to 1919, with only 1908 and 1909 missing. The Blue & Gold, the student "newspaper," has an almost complete run from 1900 to 1922, with only a few intermittent issues missing. The Conservatory of Music catalogs are for 1907 and 1908. There is also a pamphlet regarding the 1912-1913 year of the Conservatory which highlights its faculty, and the program for the fifth annual tour of the Glee Club. The Bulletin file includes only two general bulletins issued by the College. The June 1912 issue is the “Anniversary Number” and contains historical information regarding the college and its departments and activities. Wau-Kan, the college annual, is complete from 1907 to 1923, with only 1911, 1912, and 1915 missing (if published). The junior class annuals for 1904 to 1906 were named Junior Annual, Bei Uns, and Shocks, respectively. The College Library Cornerstone Laying Series contains materials pertaining to the laying of the cornerstone of the school's Carnegie Library on September 5, 1910. Included is a short history of the college written for that occasion, speech texts of John Burke and Theodore Roosevelt, and newspaper clipping that commemorated the occasion. The Alumni Correspondence Series (1924-1969) is comprised almost entirely of writings among the alumni of the college in the years after the school's closing. Its main focus appears to have been keeping in touch, tracking down lost alumni, and organizing reunions. The Subject File Series contains a wide variety of material. Appreciation of Fargo College is a collection of essays written by college alumni recalling their thoughts and experiences from Fargo College. Fundraising information contains materials that related to efforts in the mid and late 1920's to secure funds to possibly re-open the school. The Einar Elafsson papers are what appear to be business school transcripts from Sweden, and are written in Swedish. The Fargo College Alumni Association minutes trace the meetings of that group from 1954 to 1969. The Fargo College alumni mailing lists, some dated and some not, list college alumni addresses, and some lists are of last- known addresses. The class schedules are for the years 1913-1914, 1915-1916, and 1917-19l8. The Fargo College Memorial Union file contains materials pertaining to the building of the memorial union at Yankton College. Fargo College: Today's Need for a Pioneer School was published in 1929 as a part of the fund-raising efforts of the 1920s. Fargo College songs contains the alma mater, various cheers, and other songs used at Fargo College. The General file contains assorted programs, pamphlets, and other miscellaneous materials. The Graduate Listings include a chronological listing of the graduates, along with two alphabetically arranged booklets. The Influence of a Small College, 1907-1962 is a paper written by Frederick Stever, a Fargo College graduate (1914), reflecting upon his years at the school. Fargo College: A Study in Liberal Arts Education on the Dakota Prairie is a master’s thesis written by a Moorhead State University graduate student Adrien Alstad, in 1974. James Mullenbach: a Study in Social Leadership (1931), by Jane Mullenbach, is also a master’s thesis and concerns the career of one of the members of the first graduating class in 1896.

Dates

1882-1969

Creator

Mullenbach, Jane. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute does not hold the copyrights.

History

Fargo College was an institution of higher learning that existed in Fargo between 1887 and 1922. At the time of its opening, the only other colleges in the area were Moorhead Normal School, which had also opened in 1887, and the soon to be defunct Bishop Whipple School, also in Moorhead. It was located near Island Park and where now stands Western States Life Insurance Company, just east of 7th Street South. The first stirrings of the college occurred within the Congregational Church in 1882, with whom the college was affiliated. It opened its doors in 1887, when North Dakota was still Dakota Territory, Rev. George B. Barnes was hired as its first president in the fall of 1888, and the school graduated its first class, two people, in 1896. At its peak, Fargo College enrolled approximately 600 students, with its largest graduating class being twenty- five in 1917. The campus would eventually comprise four buildings, Jones Hall, Dill Hall, the Conservatory of Music, and a Carnegie Library. Low enrollment, lack of foresight on the part of the school's leadership, and ever persistent financial problems would perennially beset the college. World War I would also take a heavy toll on the school's student population. Efforts to maintain the necessary funding needed to operate the school had varied success over the years. In 1922, the college was forced to close due to insufficient financial support. Throughout the 1920s though, efforts to raise the necessary funds to reopen the school were aggressively sought. By 1929, almost half of the $500,000 needed had been raised. But the stock market crash and the ensuing depression doomed any further chances of the school reopening. In 1930, the school merged with Yankton College in Yankton, South Dakota, which was also affiliated with the Congregational Church. In 1940, the Fargo Board of Education and Western States acquired the Fargo College property. That same year, both Dill and Jones Hall were demolished. The Carnegie Library remained as the home of Western States until 1964, when it too was demolished. At its height, Fargo College was a thriving organ of classical learning in an essentially agriculturally-minded prairie area. The alumni of the school remained very active well into the late 1960's, and the spirit of the school lived on at Yankton College, until it too closed its doors in 1985.

Extent

4.75 Linear Feet (4.75 linear feet.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Provenance

Donated by Yankton College, Yankton, South Dakota, Don Peterson, President, June 1988 (Acc. 2223); Arthur F. Stocker, Fargo, North Dakota, 1961 & 1962. (Acc. 1133 and 1196); and Russell Evenson, Fargo, North Dakota, 1964.

Provenance

When Fargo College merged with Yankton College at Yankton, South Dakota in 1930, all of the school's records were sent there. Upon the announced closing of Yankton College in 1985, the Institute began to correspond with officials in Yankton in an effort to acquire the Fargo College records. Legal considerations had to be cleared up before the records could be transferred, which transpired in the summer of 1988. Numerous publications, a written history of the college, and other miscellaneous items were transferred from the Fredrick E. Stratton Papers (Mss 31) to the official records. Stratton was a professor at the college from 1906 to 1921. He was also the author of the college history, the original of which is in his papers. With the razing of the college library in 1965, materials that had been placed in the cornerstone were deposited at the Institute. Some of the materials were incorporated into Stratton papers while others were placed in the Institute's general collection. No accession number was given to these materials. In addition, various Fargo College materials that over the years were donated to the Institute were also incorporated into the Stratton papers and are now part of the official Fargo College records.

Separation Record

Newspapers (Institute newspaper collection)

One issue of The Fargo College Weekly for Jan. 18, 1912 (Vol. 1, no. 3, “Pioneer number”)

Photographs (withdrawn and organized as Institute Photo Mss 153)

56 photos of various college scenes including buildings, students, faculty, alumni, athletics and organizations. One photograph album. One scrapbook.

Bibliography

Alstad, Adrien D., Fargo College: A Study in Liberal Arts Education on the North Dakota Prairie (N.p., 1974).

Mark, Rev. C.A., Fargo College Historical Sketch (Fargo: Fargo College, 1901).

"Fargo College Remembered On Centennial," Fargo Forum (December 27, 1987).