MDN File Photo The Ward County Historical Society’s Pioneer Village Museum is pictured in this file photo.

The Ward County Historical Society’s Pioneer Village will be relocated to the south side of Burlington on the U.S. 2 and 52 Bypass, said Dave Leite, president of the historical society, on Tuesday.

Burlington is located about eight miles west of Minot.

The land is owned by the De Sour Valley Economic Development Corp., said Andy Fimrite, president, and was purchased from a private landowner. Fimrite said the economic development board will meet this evening to discuss the deal.

Fimrite said Burlington, which was the original county seat, will be a great location for the museum. The original county courthouse is currently located at the museum on the fairgrounds and it would be returning to its original location in Burlington.

Earlier this fall, the historical society lost a long-running legal battle to keep the museum on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. A judge ruled in favor of the North Dakota State Fair, which has been trying to evict the museum from the fairgrounds.

Leite had said earlier that the historical society no longer wanted to expend energy on an appeal of the lawsuit and instead would focus on a new start in a new location.

More details about the proposed relocation will be forthcoming within the next few weeks.

Leite said the historical society would hope to relocate the 12 historically significant buildings and its contents off the grounds “as soon as possible.”

However, even with fundraising efforts, Leite said they have not raised enough money to make the move.

“We can maybe move one building out there,” said Leite.

The historical society is still seeking donations for its planned relocation.