Downtown in Fargo in Cass County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Steamboats on the Red River

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 4, 2023

1. Steamboats on the Red River Marker

Inscription.
At one time the Red River was home to over a dozen steamboats including the Anson Northup (later renamed the Pioneer), the International, the Selkirk, the Dakota, the Alpha, the Cheyenne, the Manitoba, the Minnesota, the J.L. Grandin, the Pluck, the H.W. Alsop, the Fram, and the Grand Forks.

The Anson Northup named after its owner, was the first steamboat on the Red. The St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, hoping to reduce shipping charges for goods transported between Winnipeg, Manitoba, and St. Paul, offered a cash prize to the first person to put a steamboat on the Red River. Anson Northup took that challenge.

Riverboats carried both freight and passengers. Due to ice conditions they usually ran from April to October. The boats that operated on the Red River were built on-site by local boat builders. They were powered by wood fired boilers. To obtain the wood, trees were harvested from the riverbank, sometimes without the land owner's permission. Several boats were constructed in Fargo-Moorhead and two of them were over 200 feet long. In addition to the commercially operated boats, the U.S. government had a dredge and a boat tender on the Red.

This era provided many colorful stories of riverboat captains

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and their exploits. However, the advancement of the railroad put an end to the brief but exciting 50-year run of the steamboat era. 1887 was the last year that steamboats regularly operated in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Sources: www.fargo-history.com
and Clay County Historical Society

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1887.

Location. 46° 52.685′ N, 96° 47.277′ W. Marker is in Fargo, North Dakota, in Cass County. It is in Downtown. It is at the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and Broadway North, on the left when traveling east on 2nd Avenue North. The marker is located along the sidewalk near the northwest corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 202 Broadway North, Fargo ND 58102, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Dakota’s Red River Valley.

It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

and on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Black Building & Fargo Theatre (a few steps from this marker); Wildlife in the Red River Valley (a few steps from this marker); Red River Valley (within shouting distance of this marker); Osco Drug (within shouting distance of this marker); Recreation on the Red River (within shouting distance of this marker); Plains Art Museum

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 4, 2023

2. Steamboats on the Red River Marker

Looking south across 2nd Avenue North.

(about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bonanza Farms (about 400 feet away); NDSU Agriculture (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fargo.

Also see . . .
1. Anson Northup (Wikipedia).

Anson Northup was a 100-horsepower sternwheel riverboat named for her captain who was the first to navigate the Red River of the North from Fort Abercrombie, Dakota Territory, to Fort Garry, Rupert's Land, departing 6 June and arriving 10 June 1859. Sold and renamed Pioneer, she sank during the winter of 1861–62. Pioneer was dismantled and her boiler reused by SS Colvile.

(Submitted on January 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Red River Steamboats. Excerpt:

The St. Paul Chamber of Commerce prompted the construction of the first steamboat for use on the Red River. People in St. Paul had been trading with Fort Garry using Red River carts, but the chamber looked to steamboats to reduce travel time. In 1858, it offered $1,000 to the first person to put a steamboat on the Red. This challenge was met by St. Paul resident and steamboat captain Anson Northup.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 4, 2023

3. Steamboats on the Red River Marker
Looking southeast. Broadway and 2nd Avenue North intersection in the background.
Northup won the prize money—by then raised to $2,000—but his boat was not known for its quality. One of its captains referred to it as “a lumbering old pine basket…which you have to handle as gingerly as a hamper of eggs.” Northup’s steamboat was eventually taken apart, and its engines were used for a sawmill.

(Submitted on January 29, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on January 28, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 515 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 28, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.