| 1871 | John Haggart homesteads between Fargo and Mapleton, N.D. |
| 1872 | Northern Pacific Railroad begins westward expansion from Moorhead. |
| 1887 | School District No. 6 opens first school. |
| 1889 | North Dakota becomes a state. |
| 1913 | Water stations and dam established on the Sheyenne River to provide water for railroad steam engines; houses build for railroad workers. |
| 1916 | Group of farmers led by Haggart forms Equity Cooperative Packing Co. |
| 1919 | Equity completes 24 houses for workers and opens Equity Packing Plant east of Sheyenne River and north of Main Avenue. The area is known as Haggart. |
| 1920 | First hotel, housing a general store, cafeteria and post office, built near tracks. |
| 1922 | Equity declares bankruptcy and plant closes; year of the frogs, school built on Main Avenue |
| 1925 | Armour and Co. purchases old Equity plant. Haggart now called village of West Fargo. |
| 1931 | Main Avenue under construction; Joe Jameson is first mayor of village of West Fargo. |
| 1935 | Union Stockyards built west of Sheyenne River and north of Main Avenue. |
| 1937 | Election to incorporate area south of Main Avenue as village of Southwest Fargo. |
| 1938 | Walt Ruff opens Red Owl Grocery Store in Southwest Fargo; Armour workers strike for eleven weeks. |
| 1940 | Volunteer fire department organized. |
| 1941 | Engineers hired to survey sewer and water installation, but project delayed by war. |
| 1946 | Polio epidemic sweeps area; tornado damages Martin Building on Main Avenue and First Street and several of the Armour houses. |
| 1948 | Southwest Fargo incorporated as city; post office moved from village of West Fargo to Southwest Fargo. |
| 1949 | Election to install sewer and water in Southwest Fargo at cost of $335,000. |
| 1952 | Walt Ruff builds Dairy Queen in Southwest Fargo. |
| 1958 | City builds waste stabilization pond. |
| 1959 | Armour plant closes; Veteran's Memorial Swimming Pool built; city allocates $575,000 for paving of streets and curbs; city has first offices in West Fargo State Bank. |
| 1960 | Siouxland Dressed Beef Co. opens plant at current Federal Beef site. |
| 1963 | Federal Housing Authority builds 24-unit low-income apartment building. |
| 1967 | Southwest Fargo becomes West Fargo; village of West Fargo becomes West Fargo Industrial Park. |
| 1968 | Housing Authority opens 60-unit low-rise and 60-unit high-rise apartments for senior citizens. |
| 1969 | Sheyenne River crests at 21.87 feet, flooding West Fargo. |
| 1972 | Cass County Fairgrounds moved to West Fargo, Bonanzaville constructed; post office moves to new building on Sheyenne Street; indoor swimming pool built at Berger Elementary School. |
| 1973 | Siouxland plant changes name to Flavorland Industries Inc. |
| 1974 | West Fargo Industrial Park incorporated as Riverside; new public library built in West Fargo. |
| 1975 | New City Hall built; Sheyenne crests at 22.33 feet, flooding West Fargo. |
| 1978 | Flavorland plant sold to Fargo Beef Industries. |
| 1980 | Fargo Beef changes name to Held Beef Industries. |
| 1984 | Library addition contructed. |
| 1986 | Florenz Bjornson elected West Fargo's first woman mayor. |
| 1987 | Held Beef sold to Federal Beef Processors Inc. |
| 1988 | Central Livestock Assocation buys Union Stockyards, changes name to West Fargo Stockyards. |
| 1989 | West Fargo and Riverside become one city under West Fargo name. |
| 1993 | Sheyenne River Diversion operational. |
| 1994 | Home Rule charter passed. |
| 1995 | City Hall expansion completed. |
| 1998 | Menards builds 164,000-square-foot superstore on 13th Avenue East in West Fargo. |
| 1999 | Federal Beef closes plant. |