Submitted Photo Tim Hoff, left, with the Ward County Historical Society, shows off a check for $10,000 presented by Andy Fimrite, chairman of the De Sour Valley EDC board of directors, to help fund the construction of a gun museum at the Pioneer Village Museum in Burlington.

The Ward County Historical Society announced it has received a donation of $10,000 from the De Sour Valley EDC to help fund the construction of a gun museum building at the Pioneer Village Museum at Burlington.

Tim Hoff, a WCHS board member and self described “gun nut,” said the germ of the concept for the gun museum began developing at the organization after a local Minot gun collector donated 12 vintage Winchester Model 1886 lever action rifles. Hoff said there had been discussions with the collector for years regarding his Winchester collection, but given their reported value of around $100,000, the Pioneer Village doesn’t currently have a building secure enough to house them.

“I said, ‘We’ve only got one problem. We don’t know where we’re going to put them,'” Hoff said. “For about four or five years I’ve always thought we could have some kind of museum out there to show different things off out there. With this I thought, ‘Well here’s my chance to get this going.'”

Hoff said the planning and designing of the gun museum is underway. The dimensions of the gun museum is to be 30×40 feet, and will likely be designed to resemble other frontier era buildings already in the village. Hoff said with the donation from the De Sour Valley EDC about $20,000 has been raised so far toward the total projected cost of more than $150,000.

“We believe this museum will be a meaningful addition to our community, preserving heritage, attracting visitors and supporting local pride,” Hoff wrote in a letter circulated to organizations in the region.

Hoff said in addition to the Winchesters, the historical society plans to display additional historic firearms and frontier-era artifacts provided by other local aficionados who have indicated they’re interested in finding a permanent home for their collections.

“Since then I’ve talked to several gun owners at the gun shows, and several have come up to me and said, ‘I’m looking for a place for mine too.’ I’ve come to the same conclusion myself” Hoff said. “We’re getting lots of support just from word of mouth.”