Welcome to Horace

Horace is located just 16 miles southwest of downtown Fargo in the beautiful state of North Dakota. With a population of nearly 5,000 residents, Horace is a growing community, proud of its heritage and history.

With the unprecedented growth of Horace, the community’s goal is to keep its charming small-town feel. To make sure that future generations will enjoy this beautiful strip of land -- 10.77 square miles to be exact -- elected officials and residents want to make sure that traditions are upheld, and Horace’s history will be preserved.

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History

The first settlers entered the Dakota Territory that was destined to become Horace, ND in 1871. All manner of profession crossed the Horace borders at some point, including doctors, merchants, bankers, teachers, preachers, butchers, blacksmiths, and postmasters. The Lutheran Church was built in 1897.

The town is named after Horace Greeley, the American publisher, founder, and editor of the New York Tribune, which became the highest-circulated newspaper in the country. Greeley was active in politics and served briefly as a congressman from New York. He was also the unsuccessful new Liberal Republican party candidate in the 1872 presidential election against incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant.

It is only fitting that Horace be named after Greeley because he encouraged the settlement of the American West. Horace Greely saw the West as a land of opportunity for the young and unemployed. He popularized (yet didn’t coin) the slogan, “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.”

Fun Facts

  • Wall Avenue used to be known as Wall Street, just like Wall Street in New York City. Until the late 1950s, residents referred to the road as Wall Street because a few prominent families lived there, including a pastor, an attorney, and a garage owner. Streets in Horace had no street signs until nationwide zip codes were introduced in 1961 and streets had to be officially named. A cohesive street system was created, and it was decided that all streets in Horace running from east to west would be called avenues; hence, Wall Street became Wall Avenue.
  • In the 1930s, Horace was a typical small town. French Canadians predominantly populated the east side of Main Street, while the remainder were from Norway, Ireland, Sweden, and Germany. Residents shopped at Eilert Berg’s meat market, the Thue store, the Horace Mercantile, and the L.J. DuBord grocery store, as well as a garage and a lumber yard. For entertainment, locals could join community functions held on the second floor of the Thue store.
  • The only city in the United States that has a street named after a famous Disney character, Mickey Mouse Avenue is located in Horace Proper just off Thue Court. Apparently, a fed-up developer in the 1960s was tired of the difficulties he encountered while subdividing the area. Legend has it that when the request for a street name came up, he said, “I don’t care what you name it. Call it Mickey Mouse for all I care ... I’m going to the bar,” and he did!