The Denton County Office of History is reaching out to the community to help keep 91 antique guns in the area.
The University of North Texas Libraries system is planning to sell their archive of weapons including several hundred guns that were once a part of a museum on campus.
The firearms are currently a part of their special collections, which Associate Dean Sue Parks says contains tens of thousands of items ranging from books, to statues and even NBC 5’s archive video.
However, Parks said the guns are very expensive to upkeep and require experts to maintain.
Dean of Libraries Martin Halbert said they try to keep special archives that serve a research purpose on campus and unfortunately the firearms just no longer fill that need.
"We have a tremendous amount of items, we can't keep everything though,” said Dr. Halbert.
So, the school had the weapons appraised and is looking to sell them.
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When that campus museum closed in the late 1980s, the school loaned many of those guns to the county to put on display at the Courthouse Museum on the Square along with other weapons of significance to Denton County and Texas history.
Historic Director Peggy Riddle said they’d like to see the guns stay there as a part of the county’s historic record.
"For us to preserve and exhibit for future generations,” she said.
The University has offered to give the County the opportunity to buy 91 of the guns the history office identified, before they pursue other options like auction.
The weapons have been valued at about $118,000.
Riddle said her office has started pursing donations and is looking to start a kick starter campaign to raise the money for the non-operational, antique guns. They also plan to reach out to local law enforcement in hopes of finding sponsors for the collection.
They ask anyone who’s interested in helping out contact the Office of History and Culture at the Courthouse on the Square in Denton, 110 West Hickory Street, or contact Riddle at 940-349-2852 or peggy.riddle@dentoncounty.com.
Donations are tax deductible.
