ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #415
DATES: 1904-1925
SIZE: 4 folders
ACQUISITION: The Grand Forks Commercial Club Records were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection. The acquisition records are unavailable.
ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
RELATED PUBLICATION:
Articles of Incorporation By-Laws: Lists of Officers and
Committees, Reports of Officers and Lists of Members of the Grand Forks
Commercial Club: undated [possibly 1906]
Call number: HF296 .G7 G7 1906
The Grand Forks Commercial Club grew out of efforts of the Pioneer Club. Formed in 1883 to “promote social intercourse, literature, and art amongst its members,” the Pioneer Club provided “reading, chess, billiards, and smoking rooms in a lavish Victorian setting.” All of its fifty-five charter members were businessmen.
The Grand Forks Commercial Club was founded in 1904, with most of its members taken from the Pioneer Club. According to its By-Laws, the Grand Forks Commercial Club was founded to “promote the progress, extension, and increase of trade” in Grand Forks, as well as to gather and disseminate economic information. The club also sought to foster “patriotism and loyalty to the city, and in every way encourage the growth, development and upbuilding of Grand Forks.”
The Commercial Club brought about its aims through the publication of promotional brochures and political lobbying. The group also pushed the city government to make infrastructure improvements including the construction of new roads, bridges, and airports. The Commercial Club also brought various conventions to the city and helped to establish a Community Chest, which financed social services in Grand Forks. By 1932, the name of the group had changed to the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce, which it is still known as today.
Source: Grand Forks: A Pictorial History, by D. Jerome Tweton. Norfolk: Donning Co., 1986.
The Grand Forks Commercial Club Records date from 1904-1925, and consist of annual reports, material related to club sponsored automobile tours of Grand Forks, the Commercial Club Bulletin, and miscellaneous publicity brochures, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings.
Box 1
Folder
| Original Donation | First Addition: 1912-1948 |
| Second Addition: 1915 |
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