Located along the main line of the Northern Pacific Railway in the heart of the bonanza farming region, Casselton’s downtown includes the popular styles of commercial architecture from the 1870s until World War I. The buildings include Italianate and classically inspired false-front “boomtown” facades, and many have elaborate brick corbeling. These styles are reflected in the two-story continuous facades along each block. Notable buildings include the Knight/Langer Block (742 Front), Newton and Masonic blocks (1887; 600 block of Front), People’s (now Casselton) State Bank (1893; 702 Front), and the Glasgow Block (c. 1900; 638 Front), and all are attributed to George Hancock. Several of the buildings are decorated with pressed-metal ornament, which was viewed as an acceptable substitute in an area where good-quality building stone was hard to obtain. Casselton retains a substantial concentration of pressed metalwork produced by Fargo Ornamental Iron and Metal Cornice Company.