About Us
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 (late April).  They serve three year terms.  The Board of Directors meet monthly on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Robert Clarke ~ Treasurer
Bob Jostad
Arlen Kalvik

Barbara Larson ~Secretary
Syl Melroe ~ President

Marle Poehls

Randy Schlossin
Marie Shields

Brian Stavenger
Barbara Witteman ~ Vice President

Joyce Yexley

By Laws (PDF)

Staff

Steve Backsen ~ Executive Director

Email
Alison Voss ~ Head Curator/Director of Education
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Andrew Nielsen ~ Curator
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Rich Asleson ~ Director of Facilities and Grounds
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Samantha Larson-Frobig - Gift Shop Manager/Events Coordinator

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