About Us

Bonanzaville is the regions largest historical attraction. Located in West Fargo, North Dakota we offer all types of fun and educational opportunities. As the regions foremost Pioneer Prairie Village and Museum, we are located on 12 acres of land and have 43 buildings with more than 400,000 artifacts and millions of memories. Bonanzaville, is operated by the Cass County Historical Society.

Mission
The mission of the Cass County Historical Society is to collect, display and interpret artifacts relevant to the history and cultural heritage of Cass County and the Red River Valley.

History
The Cass County Historical Society was organized in 1954 and became a nonprofit corporation in North Dakota in 1955. Later that year, we got into the museum business when the Pioneer Daughters donated the contents of their historical museum, which was housed in the basement of Menard Hall at NDSU (then NDAC).  It wasn't until 1972 that the present museum building was constructed on land donated by the Red River Valley Fair. Artifacts were then moved from Menard Hall to the new museum. CCHS had been collecting buildings from around the county, and moving them to the location now called Bonanzaville, since 1967. The name refers to the large Bonanza farms that once existed in the Red River Valley.

Over the years, we have accumulated 24 historic buildings and four museums, such as the Eugene Dahl Car Museum, the Eagles Air Museum, and the Law Enforcement Museum.

Board of Directors
Bonanzaville’s Board of Directors are chosen from the membership by members at the annual meeting each April.  They serve three year terms.  The Board of Directors meet monthly on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Robert Clarke ~ President

Tom Jacobson
Bob Jostad

Paul Meyers ~ Treasurer

Marie Shields

Elton Solseng

Brian Stavenger ~ Vice President

By Laws (PDF)

Staff

Troy White ~ Executive Director Email

Andrew Nielsen ~ Curator   Email

Kira Gilbraith ~ Events Coordinator    Email

Pat Matthys ~ Administrative Assistant   Email

Joe Vasek ~ Facilities Manager   Email