719 10th Avenue North
Moorhead, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - John Bergquist House (Bergquist Pioneer Cabin)

Statement of Significance:

The Bergquist Cabin, Moorhead's first permanent residence, is significant as an early, initial settlement structure and for its association with John G. Bergquist, active in the early development of Moorhead. Bergquist went to Moorhead in late 1869 and homesteaded along the Red River. His cabin was completed in March 1870. The building is representative of early, permanent settlement in the Moorhead area. It was built not as a subsistence structure, but as a modest home. Bergquist farmed and lived in the cabin until the 1880s.

In 1881, Bergquist purchased a parcel of land containing brick-quality clay and established a brickyard. He gave up his farming activities and focused his efforts on real estate development and construction in Moorhead. In 1882 he built the Bergquist Block, a substantial brick commercial building in downtown Moorhead. He subdivided his farmstead, donated the site for the Clay County Courthouse, and sold lots in the adjoining Bergquist Addition. In 1885 he built a substantial frame house near his brickyard east of town. Bergquist role in Moorhead's development - from first settling through later development - is significant in the city's history.