Museum Exhibits
The museum is run by the Crook County Historical Society and highlights the history of Crook County and central Oregon. The building’s original bank interior has been maintained and is utilized in the museum’s floor plan. There are major sections on local industry, transportation, and military history.
On the first floor is the Hall of History, which highlights Crook County's past. This includes exhibits on the City of Prineville Railroad, the local timber industry and United States Forest Service as well as pioneer furniture, garments, tools, and other artifacts. There are also many photographs of Crook County people, local landmarks, and historic event. The museum’s displays include the bank's original teller cages with their marble counters and elegant woodwork. Museum visitors can look inside bank’s safe and see old ledgers and other documents on display.
The second floor rooms include a ranch tack room, an old-time bedroom, a dining room, a re-creation of the old Paulina store and post office, and exhibits of early medical and dental equipment. The museum’s research library is also located on the second floor. The museum’s research room contains approximately 700 reference books on Oregon history. Researchers can investigate the local timber industry, the Crook County range war between cattlemen and sheepherders, the Lost Meek Wagon Train, and many other subjects. The museum’s gift shop has books on local history as well as souvenirs.
In 1980, the Crook County Historical Society was offered a 1907 Studebaker Phaeton along with some old farm equipment. However, there was no place in the museum to house the vehicle and the large artifacts. As a result, the Society established a building fund to raise money for another building. In 1987, a museum annex was constructed at the Crook County fairgrounds. The building is owned by Crook County, but is operated by the Crook County Historical Society in the same manner as the main Bowman Museum.
In 1996, the Bowman Museum hosted a Smithsonian traveling exhibit called Barn Again. That was the first time a traveling Smithsonian exhibit was shown in central Oregon. In 1997, the museum was awarded a general operating support grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent agency of the United States Federal Government. That was a significant achievement since less than 20 percent of more than 1,000 institutional applicants received one of the Institute’s competitive national grants.
Read more about this topic: A. R. Bowman Memorial Museum
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