North Dakota Collection
The North Dakota Collection is a specialized collection featuring content about the state of North Dakota. This is a non-circulating collection, and it is always available for research. History researchers and genealogists will find these resources incredibly useful. Listed below are a few of the more interesting materials found in the North Dakota Collection:
Fargo and Moorhead City Directories
These date back to 1881. Alphabetical listings of people and businesses, as well as street directories (what businesses or people were at a specific address). This is a tool that is often used for researching a house's history.
High School Yearbooks
These include the Cynosure for Fargo Central High from 1901—1967, the Bruin for Fargo South High from 1968, and the Laconian for Fargo North High from 1966. Also, we have some Shanley High and NDSU yearbooks.
Veteran's Directories
The library has the official registers of North Dakotans who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War.
Cemetery Indexes
These provide a list of burials in Fargo and Cass County cemeteries. The North Dakota Collection also features a limited number of funeral home records.
North Dakota Historical Quarterly (1926-1944) and North Dakota History Magazine (1945-present)
These state publications of the State Historical Society of North Dakota contain outstanding in-depth articles on all areas of the history of North Dakota.
North Dakota Outdoors (1945-present)
This publication is produced by the State Game and Fish Agency. It contains many well-illustrated articles about regional hunting and fishing opportunities.
County Histories
The Fargo Public Library has dozens of county histories. These works are primarily published around important anniversaries and can be a valuable genealogical resource.
North Dakota Quarterly (1959-present)
A publication of the University of North Dakota, these articles focus on the humanities, particularly literature.
North Dakota Blue Books
Dating back to 1901, these irregularly published volumes contain a variety of information about North Dakota, including the names of state officeholders.
A Detailed Analysis of the Fargo Tornadoes of June 20, 1957 by Tetsuya Fujita
This is the technical report to the United States Weather Bureau by the man who invented the "F-Scale" measurement system for tornadoes. It contains a number of charts and photographs.