Roy P. Johnson (died 1963) was born in Hendrum, Minnesota. He began his career in 1916 as a railway station agent. His ability as a telegrapher ultimately led him to employment as an Associated Press telegrapher assigned to The Fargo Forum. In 1927, he joined the editorial department of The Forum. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, returning to The Forum in 1945 continuing his career as a reporter until his death. He was the chief reporter for The Forum of both the court and city hall in Fargo while at the same time producing a phenomenally interesting rendition of a seemingly bland but unusually rich local history. His contributions were the beginning of a broader literature of the history of this somewhat obscure corner of Northeastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota, and in this regard he was perhaps the most influential and noteworthy figure in the developing historiography of the region.[1]
Mr. Johnson is best known for his work as a reporter-historian for The Forum. Between 1941 and 1963 Roy delighted readers of The Forum with his accounts of regional frontier history. This series has been largely reproduced in a compendium published in 1982 called Roy Johnson's Red River Valley: A Selection of Historical Articles First Printed in the Forum from 1941 to 1962.[2] Although he considered himself an "amateur" historian, much of his oeuvre is unique and irreplaceable. His newspaper columns remain the most detailed and incisive chronicle of the history of the Red River of the North and its environs. He captured moments in frontier history at a time when oral history and personal reminiscence could still fill in the blank spaces left by official histories and biographies, producing what remains one of the primary sources for Red River Valley history.
In addition to his interest in the Red River Valley, Mr. Johnson had a consuming interest in the events surrounding the defeat of General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He had been able to even have an interview with the last survivor before he had died. He was a member of a number of historical societies in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Manitoba. In 1958 he was appointed to the advisory council of the Civil War Centennial Commission, and in 1960 he served as a historical adviser for the Dakota Territorial Centennial Commission, plus two committees for the Minnesota centennial observances. His papers are maintained at the North Dakota State University Institute for Regional Studies, in Fargo, North Dakota.[3]
Notes
↑ E.g., Engelhardt, Carroll L., 'Gateway to the northern plains: railroads and the birth of Fargo' (U. of Minn. Press, 2007), at pp. 298-300, ISBN978-0-8166-4956-3.
↑ Clarence A. Glasrud, ed., Roy Johnson's Red River Valley: A Selection of Historical Articles First Printed in the Forum from 1941 to 1962, Red River Valley History Society, Moorhead, Minnesota (1982),
Moorhead is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several corporations and manufacturing industries. Across the river from Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead helps form the core of the Fargo–Moorhead ND-MN Metropolitan Area. The population was 44,505 according to the 2020 census.
Fargo is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in the United States. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, and the adjacent cities of West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the core of the Fargo–Moorhead, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA had a population of 248,591 in 2020.
The Red River is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming most of the border of Minnesota and North Dakota and continuing into Manitoba. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into Hudson Bay.
David B. Danbom is a historian, author, and was a professor of agricultural history at North Dakota State University, for more than forty years. Danbom spent nine years on the Fargo Historic Preservation Commission. Danbom also served as president of the Agricultural History Society.
The Grand Forks Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper, established in 1879, published in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It is the primary daily paper for northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. Its average daily circulation is approximately 7,500, in the city of Grand Forks plus about 7,500 more to the surrounding communities. Total circulation includes digital subscribers. It has the second largest circulation in the state of North Dakota.
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead or more recently The Forum is an American, English language newspaper. It is the major newspaper for Fargo, North Dakota and the surrounding region, including Moorhead, Minnesota. It is the flagship and namesake of Forum Communications. The Forum, as it is commonly known, is the primary paper for southeast North Dakota, and also much of northwest Minnesota. Its average daily circulation was about 47,100 on Sundays and 37,500 on Saturdays prior to reducing its print schedule to semi-weekly. The Fargo Forum was first published on November 17, 1891 by Major A. W. Edwards. However, it traces its lineage to The Republican, which had been founded by Edwards in 1878 and merged into the Forum in 1894.
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted as states in the United States, this fertile valley has been important to the economies of these states and to Manitoba, Canada.
Forum Communications Company is an American multimedia and technology company headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. With multiple online and print news brands throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, Forum Communications offers local news in a variety of digital and broadcast mediums in addition to various niche media brands covering specialty interests.
Fargo–Moorhead, also known as the FM area, is a common name given to the metropolitan area comprising Fargo, North Dakota; Moorhead, Minnesota; and the surrounding communities. These two cities lie on the North Dakota–Minnesota border, on opposite banks of the Red River of the North. The region is the cultural, retail, health care, educational, and industrial center of southeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
George Albert Sinner was an American politician who served as the 29th governor of North Dakota from 1985 to 1992. He served two four-year terms and was the most recent governor of North Dakota from his party, the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party.
WDAY is North Dakota's oldest radio station, having first signed on in 1922. WDAY is licensed to Fargo, North Dakota, owned by Forum Communications, and operated by Flag Family Media. The transmitter site is near 210th Street South in Barnesville, Minnesota, and studios are on 8th Street South in Fargo.
On the evening of June 20, 1957, a violent and deadly F5 tornado struck the north side and downtown area of Fargo, North Dakota as well as the area north of Moorhead, Minnesota. It was part of a family of five devastating tornadoes produced by one supercell over the course of 3.5 hours, although they are listed as one continuous tornado. The tornado family started in North Dakota, traveled 27.4 miles (44.1 km) to the Minnesota border before crossing it and continuing for another 25 miles (40 km) for a total track length of 52.4 miles (84.3 km). Additionally, at its widest point, the damage swath reached 500 yards (460 m) across. A total of 10 people were killed, making it the deadliest tornado in North Dakota history. Meanwhile, 103 others were injured, and damage was estimated at $25.25 million. It was part of a larger outbreak sequence of 23 tornadoes that affected the Midwest and Great Plains.
By the Treaty of Old Crossing (1863) and the Treaty of Old Crossing (1864), the Pembina and Red Lake bands of the Ojibwe, then known as Chippewa Indians, purportedly ceded to the United States all of their rights to the Red River Valley. On the Minnesota side, the ceded territory included all lands lying west of a line running generally southwest from the Lake of the Woods to Thief Lake, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Red Lake, and then angling southeast to the headwaters of the Wild Rice River near the low-lying divide separating the watershed of the Red River of the North from the watershed of the Mississippi River. On the North Dakota side, the ceded territory included all of the Red River Valley north of the Sheyenne River. The total land area, roughly 127 miles (204 km) wide east to west and 188 miles (303 km) long north to south, consisted of nearly 11,000,000 acres (45,000 km2) of rich prairie land and forests.
The US State of North Dakota experienced significant flooding in its major river basins in 2009, following abnormally heavy winter snows atop saturated and frozen ground.
The Fargo-Moorhead Twins were a minor league baseball team that existed from 1933 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1960, representing the neighboring cities of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. The Twins won six league championships during their seasons of play. Earlier minor league teams had also represented the cities. Baseball Hall of Fame members Dizzy Dean (1941) and Lloyd Waner (1947) are Fargo-Moorhead Twins alumni, as is 2x AL Most Valuable Player Roger Maris.
Aagot Raaen was an American author and educator.
The following works deal with the cultural, political, economic, military, biographical and geologic history of pre-territorial North Dakota, Dakota Territory and the State of North Dakota.
Jon Gilmore Lindgren is an American politician who was the mayor of Fargo, North Dakota, an advocate for LGBT rights, and a professor at North Dakota State University.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
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