This week in 1924 the nation was awakened to the shocking news that former President Woodrow Wilson had died. The banner headline in the Fargo Forum included “Death ends career of noted American.”
One of the accompanying stories from the Associated Press noted: Wartime leader loses gallant struggle after lingering illness; end comes quietly at 11:15am Sunday; wife and daughter at bedside.
In a reporting fashion that would most likely be shunned today, the Washington-based dispatch wrote: “Woodrow Wilson has found in eternity a haven from the storms and sorrows of a troubled world. In the prayerful quiet of a Sunday morning, death folded him gently in its embrace and bore him to his maker.” That lyrical sentiment is a flowery example of journalism from the past.
The wartime commander in chief during World War One had suffered weary months of illness and was with his family when he died. President Calvin Coolidge expressed his regret and his readiness to be helpful before issuing a proclamation of 30 days of official mourning.
The Richmond Virginia Associated Press reported on a request by Mrs. Woodrow Wilson that the body of America’s wartime president be interred in Richmond, Virginia’s Hollywood Cemetery where many other famous Virginians were buried. Her request was adopted by the Virginia general assembly.
The former president was one of the few chief executives to travel to North Dakota. He visited Bismarck as part of a speaking tour to promote the League of Nations. Wilson, traveling by railroad in 1919 had a brief stop in Fargo, but did not have occasion to greet the public.
His Fargo connection came later when a new school was named in his honor. Woodrow Wilson School was built in 1917 and would later be feted with entry into the National Register of Historic Places due to the institution’s collegiate gothic design. Eventually, it became an alternative high school for at-risk students.
Over time, Wilson’s national legacy suffered due to his racist views, prompting a move to changes the school’s name. The program had moved to the former Agassiz School in South Fargo, and in 2021 was renamed Dakota High School.
As for the original structure, it was bought and refurbished for use as an apartment building by Fargo entrepreneur and North Dakota Governor, Doug Burgum.
Dakota Datebook by Steve Stark
Sources: The Fargo Forum & Daily Republican Feb. 4, 1924
Mike Jacobs column, Grand Forks Herald
National Register of Historic Places