City (pop., 2000: 90,599), eastern North Dakota, U.S. The state's largest city, it is located on the Red River of the North.
It was founded in 1871 by the Northern Pacific Railway and named for William G. Fargo of Wells, Fargo & Co. The development of wheat growing in the area consolidated the city's role as a transportation, marketing, and distribution centre. North Dakota State University (1890) is a noted centre of agricultural research. Local industries include the manufacture of farm implements and fertilizer. The meat-packing plants and stockyards in suburban West Fargo rank among the nation's largest.