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Pioneer Village relocation to begin next month

Moving snow so buildings can be moved later

Andrea Johnson/MDN Dan Caswell, a member of the Ward County Historical Society board of directors, moves snow on the site of the Pioneer Village on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds on Thursday. The museum buildings must be relocated to Burlington by June.

Ward County Historical Society board member Dan Caswell was blowing snow away from a path leading to the main gate to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds on Thursday.

The historical society will begin relocating buildings next month from its Pioneer Village Museum to its new location in Burlington. Under the terms of a deal with the North Dakota State Fair, all of the buildings must be moved by June 15. If the buildings are gone by that time, the State Fair will give the historical society $50,000 toward the move. The historical society will lose that funding if all of the buildings have not been relocated by that time.

The use of trailers has also been donated to the historical society. Museum artifacts were previously packed into the borrowed trailers, which are still being stored on the museum grounds.

The historical society lost its legal battle last year to keep the museum on the fairgrounds and decided against an appeal.

The DeSour Valley Economic Development Corp. has donated land valued at about $1.5 million, located on the south side of U.S. 2 and 52 near the new Dollar General store in Burlington, to the historical society as the new site of the Pioneer Village.

Senate Bill 2146, currently under consideration in the state Legislature, would provide $450,000 to the State Historical Society to award a grant for the move.

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