Frontier Village campaign funds being raised for maintenance, projects

JAMESTOWN — Deferred maintenance and new attractions are the planned projects for funds raised through the Frontier Village campaign, says Allison Limke, visitor experience manager for Jamestown Tourism.

How many of those projects are accomplished this year depends upon how much is raised, she said. No specific monetary goal was set for the campaign, she said, but the more that is raised will help with the prioritized projects.

With the historical buildings at the village all being painted in the last three years, they will now be placed on a rotation to continue their upkeep, Limke said.

“So for historic preservation, you try to do one building a year every year,” she said. “That way you’re not breaking the bank and you have a consistent way to maintain your buildings. Now we are all caught up and we can start that rotation, so our schoolhouse will be painted this year. That will be our outdoor painting project for the year.”

Courtesy / Allison Limke

The other historic buildings on the painting rotation are the General Store, church, train depot and town hall, she said.

“Other buildings are small enough that we are able to paint those either in house or by volunteer committees,” Limke said.

The campaign’s main focus this year is deferred maintenance projects, Limke said, including stagecoach and pony ring repairs, replacing fencing, the town hall door and frame and boardwalk and awning work.

Along with that deferred maintenance is a need for a toolbox and various tools to help with projects, she said.

“Last year we were able to purchase a set of tools,” she said. “They get us by but depending on the project, you always need more pieces to get the project done.”

For example, they need sawhorses that can be moved more easily across the village, she said.

“Right now our sawhorses are 20-some pounds and if you need two of them, it’s hard to get them across (the village),” she said.

They have a miter saw but no miter saw stand, she said, so when they want to use the saw they have to figure out how to place it for safe use. And when they have groups come to the site to work for a service day and have people trained to use certain tools, it helps to have enough tools to get the projects done quickly, she said.

A new flagpole will be installed at the entrance to the World’s Largest Buffalo, Limke said.

The other projects prioritized if there is enough funding from the campaign will be a square dancing exhibit, pollinator flower planting and refurbishing a gatehouse that will be moved this year to the Eagles Train Parkette site.

The square dancing exhibit will teach visitors about the state dance, Limke said.

“It’s a 9 (inch) by 12 by 9 box,” she said, with a speaker system and will be wrapped in what appears to be an old square dancing ad from a newspaper.

The box will be placed near the Kirkpatrick Gallery.

“It’ll have two buttons,” Limke said. “One will tell you a little bit of the background of square dancing and a few moves. The second button will be some music and a caller saying the moves that you just learned. And so you can learn how to do a short square dance. … It should be fun.”

Pollinator flowers and native flowers to North Dakota will be planted above the amphitheater, where there is a wild grass area.

The other main project is moving a Burlington Northern gatehouse located next to the depot to the Eagles Train Parkette site nearby, Limke said. If enough campaign funds are raised, it will be refurbished and interpreted for visitors, she said. The goal is to turn the gatehouse into a working-type playhouse where families and kids can learn about train safety and why gatehouses existed.

A recirculating milk cow, food truck locations, horseshoe pits and an interactive shooting gallery are also on the list of new attractions.

Limke said there’s always something to do at Frontier Village if people want to volunteer or help in some other way.

“Our main goal is always to give our visitors a great first impression and to always have something available for locals,” she said. “ … The Frontier Village is a community site. It’s not just (Jamestown) Tourism’s, it’s not just the city’s, it’s everybody’s and there’s ways that the community can participate whether it’s volunteering up there, pulling weeds, picking up litter, donating equipment or tools or donating cash, there’s a way to be involved and be part of that first impression for visitors.”

Businesses can schedule a service day if interested in helping, Limke said. Last year, Ameriprise staff spent a day at the village helping with painting projects and outside cleaning at the site.

Community Options, Triumph and Alpha Opportunities help with washing windows and glass cases and removing cobwebs and dust, she said. Two greeters are the main gardeners at the site tending to the flower beds but they are only at the village three days a week, so anyone interested in helping water and maintain them is welcome, she said.

Anyone interested in making a donation can write a check to the Jamestown Community Foundation, include in the memo that it is for the Frontier Village campaign and mail to Jamestown Tourism, ℅ Frontier Village, PO Box 917, Jamestown, ND 58402, or drop at the Tourism office at 120 2nd St. SE. Donations to Jamestown Community Foundation are tax deductible through that 501(c)3.

For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact Limke at Jamestown Tourism at 251-9145.