Local Exhibit Looks at Clay County’s History of Alcohol

A local art exhibit at the Hjemkomst Center takes a look into Clay County’s history of alcohol.

The exhibit, Wet and Dry, showcases three periods of time from 1871 to 1937.

At one point, Moorhead had about one saloon for every eight people.

Many of the saloons served people from local communities in North Dakota, which banned alcohol in 1890.

The Fargo area has consistently been ranked as one of the most drunken cities in the United States.

“Fargo for instance, in North Dakota’s long period of prohibition from 1890 to 1936 basically, North Dakota was dry,” archivist Mark Piehl said. “That’s nearly 50 years But it didn’t get rid of the drinking. It drove it underground.”

The exhibit will be open until January 2018.