Picture a museum with 35,000 square feet of amazing artifacts. Documents with original presidential signatures, period furniture and costumes, musical instruments, military memorabilia, farm tools and collections from toys to locally-made glassware are just a fraction of the collections. That’s Blackwell’s Top of Oklahoma Historical Society’s Museum.

There’s only one drawback. There has been no comprehensive inventory of all the Museum’s treasures. Thanks to an Oklahoma Historical Society grant, Janna (Jai) Rogers, professional historian and museologist, was contracted to facilitate the inventorying and revamping of the museum’s collections.

Rogers joins Director Melissa Hudson and board member Marion Tucker to tackle the massive museum. The museum has no storage so everything the museum has collected since the 1970’s is on display. Although there are some accession records, no complete inventory has existed. The Museum raised funds from the community to purchase Past Perfect, the professional museum software, to make a permanent record of the museum contents. In addition, the Museum receives support and funding from the City of Blackwell.

“The task was daunting to say the least, “ said Board President Jaylene Soleck. “We took a chance that the Oklahoma Historical Society might award us a grant. Hard work on a museum strategical plan and the grant application paid off, and the museum was awarded $20,000. It is literally a lifeline for the museum today and into the future.”

Finding Rogers has been the second fortuitous step in the revamping process. Would the museum be able to find a professional willing to come to a small town and tackle the job? The History Department at Oklahoma State University put out the call; Rogers applied and was hired.

In December Rogers will complete her doctoral coursework in U.S. History/Race and Ethnicity with a minor in public history. Her 300- page master’s thesis is titled, Decolonizing Cherokee History 1790-1839s. Her doctoral dissertation will center on the historical collecting and treatment of Indigenous dead. She was the founder of the Oklahoma Native American Network and the executive producer of the Oklahoma Indian Forum, Channel 6 (KOTV) Tulsa.

Rogers’ passion as a public historian is organizing museum collections to make them inviting for visitors of all ages and from all backgrounds.

Marion Tucker, board member, set up the inventory system, has taken an archiving class and is working with Rogers. “Marion is an inspiration and role model,” Rogers said. “We work together to think about what we want people to feel when they visit and when they leave the museum.”

“First we take everything out of every cabinet, number each item, take pictures and write descriptions,” said Tucker. “The Museum has American artifacts that no other museum in the country has. That’s so exciting.”

The grant hopes to allow the completion of the inventory process of the south wing of the museum. In the meantime, Melissa Hudson, Director, continues with the huge job of running the entire museum, giving tours, helping with the inventory and working on the north wing of the museum.

“So many people and organizations have come together to make sure that the Top of Oklahoma Museum continues its mission to educate and entertain visitors about the history of this area,” said Soleck. “It’s a huge job that couldn’t be done without the City, the Oklahoma Historical Society, Jai Rogers, Melissa Hudson, Marion Tucker and members of the Board of Directors.

The Museum is at 303 S. Main, Blackwell, and is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.