There comes a time in every building s life when it becomes painfully obvious that the repairs needed to keep the building operational far exceeds the building s usefulness. Such a conclusion is rapidly becoming reality with the building that houses Watford City s Pioneer Museum. The Pioneer Museum building is one of Watford City s original structures and now at over 75 years old, it is definitely showing its age. With a leaking roof and a basement that sees a steady flow of water, the Pioneer Museum building has seen a better day.
Old buildings can become treasures upon themselves and they can be a good setting for a museum.
But such is not the case in this instance. In the last couple of months, the seriousness of the problems became evident as the museum s board prepared to close down nearly half of the museum to public viewing and to remove the displays from the basement. Fortunately, the museum is now in the process of acquiring another adjacent building to serve as a storage area, but such a move should only be viewed as a very short-range solution. The long-range solution to the problem will be finding the Pioneer Museum a new and more modern home. But, finding a new home for the Pioneer Museum is not going to be an easy task.