a century of entrepreneurialism at FARGO GLASS & PAINT COMPANY

Words by Rebecca Meidinger | Photography by Kensie Wallner Photography

Nearly a hundred years ago,

a man with a vision and a dream traveled from his family home in South Dakota to a bustling and growing town on the northern prairie to find out what type of services were lacking. The man was E.J. Schonberg, the year was 1917, and the town was Fargo, North Dakota. After some time, Schonberg determined that in any town where new construction was booming, a glass store was a necessity. He secured one job, ordered the needed glass to be delivered by train, and thus, the Fargo Plate Glass Company was born. A year later, after his family had joined him in Fargo and the glass business was established, he felt a need to include paint sales in the business and partnered with the Benjamin Moore Paint Company. In 1922 the name was changed to Fargo Glass & Paint Company, as it is known today.

99 years later, the business is still in town, and many divisions now make up the Fargo Glass & Paint Company (FGP)—millwork, floor covering, paint, glass and contract glass. Still headquartered in Fargo, FGP operates outlets in Bismarck, Minot, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to better serve their customers in those areas. Growth has also meant relocation, four times in fact, over a century of business. Initially located on Broadway, then on N.P. Avenue, FGP is best known for its third location, which is at 7th Avenue North and 18th Street. That location has served FGP well for many years, and still serves as its corporate headquarters and wholesale distribution warehouse, as well as the site for all glass business, including contract glass and glazing, and retail glass sales.

sion what would look best in their home, Craig Tait, FGP’s interior designer and grandson of the founder, travels to any home or business, free of charge, offering his expert eye, knowledge and informed opinion on colors, textures and patterns.

Paul Heskin, manager of the Osgood store, extends a warm welcome and invitation to businesses and homeowners who are looking for paint expertise and high-quality products in the context of a hometown feel. “In addition to the highest quality paint available, we offer an expert and very experienced staff,” says Heskin. It doesn’t take long to see what sets this hometown business apart. Even after a century of growing with the city, the spirit of entrepreneurship certainly lives on at Fargo Glass & Paint Company.

However, as Fargo has stretched south and west, FGP decided to move Fargo’s only locally owned retail paint store that direction to better serve residents with a more “retail friendly” location and to meet the high demands of new construction. Now, for your painting, window treatment and wallpaper needs, you can visit FGP at 4323 45th St. S., #107, in the Osgood Hornbacher’s strip mall. A benefit of the strip mall location is that a customer can go next door to have lunch, do some grocery shopping or accomplish a number of other errands while their paint is being mixed. For those who’d like an expert to envi-

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