'We'll Lose The Museum': Drumright Resident's Worry About Possible Closure Of Town's Historical Museum

A town that dates back to the early 1900s.

"So this tells our story in brief," said the museum's treasurer, Deborah Wilson as she pointed to a mural. 

Drumright is full of Oklahoma history. Especially inside "Old Faithful," home of the town's historical museum.

"This was on a car, in the garage and the stick went through it from the tornado, which yeah, it's quite a novelty," Wilson said showing off an old tire. 

Pieces like high school band uniforms, vintage hair salon equipment and old photos are just a few of the things Wilson knows fun facts about.

"These are oil samples, actual oil samples," she said. 

For many people like her, the museum is a staple.

"It's a big part of the town and I don't want to see it go down, I want to see it thrive and continue," resident Lexy Rockhold said. 

Rockhold moved to Drumright in the 1970's. She said the museum walls hold special memories of her late husband Rocky.

"Rocky was a scoutmaster for 25 years and so he's got several things, there's several things of my husband in the museum," she said. 

But in a few months, some of Lexy's and other Drumright resident's memories at the museum may come to an end. 

"If we don't get our interest elevated, we'll lose the museum," Wilson said. 

The museum runs on donations, memberships and sponsorships, but as of July 2024, the City of Drumright will cut its donation to the museum in half from $700 to $300 a month. 

"To lose it would be a great misjustice to all of this, everybody that has ever contributed, it would be a misjustice to them," Wilson said.  

In a statement, the city of Drumright said "This was not something we wanted to do but the money was not available for us to continue to support the museum."

Without new financial support, the museum doesn't know what will happen to all the history.

"There's a lot of people that would think oh it's just a bunch of old junk pieces, but each piece has a story," Wilson said.

Stories that she will continue to share as long as the depot's doors remain open.