Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral

Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral is an Episcopal cathedral in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of North Dakota.HistoryThe first Episcopal service in Fargo was celebrated on August 29, 1872 by the Rev. Joseph A Gilfilian, from Brainerd, Minnesota. Services were held in the Northern Pacific Railway dining tent. Most of the people in the congregation worked for the railroad and their families. In the winter months they held services in Pinkham’s Hall, which was located at the corner of Front (Main) and 3rd Streets. The mission was called the Church of the Crossing. In the summer of 1874 construction began on a permanent church building at 204 9th St. South on land donated by General George W. Cass. It was completed the following year and named Christ Church. A couple of years later the church was blown off its foundation. It was rebuilt and given parish status. At this time the parish was renamed Gethsemane.The Missionary District of North Dakota was established by the Episcopal Church on October 11, 1883 by dividing the Missionary District of Dakota into two districts. Fargo was selected as the See city.By the 1890s not only had Gethsemane outgrown its church, but it had been blown off its foundation again. A new church was designed in the Gothic Revival style. It was to be constructed in red sandstone, however, because of the national economic depression the plans had to be changed. It was built as a wood frame building on a sandstone foundation. It featured decorative wooden features that would have normally have been made of stone. The church was located at Second Avenue and Ninth Street South. On September 2, 1900 Gethsemane was elevated to a cathedral. It was the only wooden Episcopal cathedral in the United States.