Alexander Griggs

Alexander Griggs. Considered the Founder of Grand Forks, Alexander Griggs filed the first land plat in the Original Townsite in 1875. Steamboat captain and builder, Griggs was an integral part of the steamboat era. He learned his navigational skills on the Mississippi River and earned his pilot’s license at nineteen. Partnering with railroad magnate, James J. Hill, Griggs established a steamboat enterprise on the Red River of the North and built the Selkirk in 1871. Griggs vigorously promoted the early development of Grand Forks. He founded the Second National Bank, established the gas works, and built the Grand Forks Roller Mill, the first brick city block and a hotel, the Griggs House. Griggs was the city’s third postmaster and was politically active, serving on the City Council, the Board of County Commissioners, the Railroad Commission, the first state constitutional convention, and as Mayor from 1888 to 1889. He left Grand Forks and eventually established another steamship line in 1893, the Columbia and Okanogan Steamboat Company, at Wenatchee, Washington, where he died January 25, 1903., Sculpture by Heidi J. Hoy and Nicholas Legeros , Commissioned by the Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission , Land donated by the County of Grand Forks , Funding provided by the City of Grand Forks, the , North Valley Arts Council, and the , River Forks Commission , Dedicated May 23, 2001.