<P> The Northern Pacific reached Dakota Territory at Fargo in 1872, and began its career as one of the central factors in the economic growth of North Dakota . The climate, although very cold, was suitable for wheat, which was in high demand in the cities of the United States and Europe . Most of the settlers were German and Scandinavian immigrants who bought the land cheaply, and raised large families . They shipped huge quantities of wheat to Minneapolis, while buying all sorts of equipment and home supplies to be shipped in by rail . </P> <P> The NP used its federal land grants as security to borrow money to build its system . The federal government kept every other section of land, and gave it away free to homesteaders . At first the railroad sold much of its holdings at low prices to land speculators in order to realize quick cash profits, and also to eliminate sizable annual tax bills . By 1905 the railroad company land policies changes when it realized it had been a costly mistake to have sold much of the land at wholesale prices . With better railroad service and improved methods of farming the Northern Pacific easily sold what had been heretofore "worthless" land directly to farmers at good prices . By 1910 the railroad's holdings in North Dakota had been greatly reduced . </P> <P> In 1873, Northern Pacific made impressive strides before a terrible stumble . Rails from the east reached the Missouri River on June 4 . After several years of study, Tacoma, Washington, was selected as the road's western terminus on July 14 . However, for the past three years the financial house of Jay Cooke and Company had been throwing money into the construction of the Northern Pacific . As with many western transcontinentals, the staggering costs of building a railroad into a vast wilderness had been drastically underestimated . </P> <P> Cooke had little success in marketing the bonds in Europe and overextended his house in meeting overdrafts of the mounting construction costs . Cooke overestimated his managerial skills and failed to appreciate the limits of a banker's ability to be also a promoter, and the danger of freezing his assets in the bonds of the Northern Pacific . Cooke and Company went bankrupt on September 18, 1873 . Soon the Panic of 1873 engulfed the United States, beginning an economic depression that ruined or nearly paralyzed newer railroads . </P>

What city did the northern pacific railroad choose for its terminus in 1873