Crook County and museum leaders show off the award while standing in front of the Belknap Exhbit Center. Pictured left to right are Commissioenrs Brian Barney, Susan Hermreck and Seth Crawford, Phil Burgess with the Crook County Historical Society and Sean Briscoe, executive director of Bowman Museum. (Jason Chaney/Central Oregonian)

Bowman Museum’s new Belknap Exhibit Center has recently earned national recognition.

The facility was awarded one of the National Association of Counties’ Achievement Awards after county and museum leaders applied for the honor.

“I was very honored and excited,” said Museum Director Sean Briscoe. “It was neat to see this building be recognized not only locally but to see it recognized nationally as an innovative county program.”

Application for the national award was spurred initially by Crook County Commissioner Susan Hermreck, who also serves as the vice president of public lands for the National Association of Counties. 

“They were having the Achievement Awards, so I looked at the different categories,” she recalls. She then spoke with fellow County Commissioner Brian Barney, brainstorming what in Crook County they could submit as an innovative county program. Barney suddenly realized the Belknap Center would make a great choice.

So the two commissioners reached out to Briscoe and Phil Burgess with Crook County Historical Society.

“We sat down and we looked at the application, and they did a tremendous amount of work on the application,” Hermreck said. 

After sending the application, the county was notified a few weeks ago that they had won. The Board of County Commissioners recently acknowledged the award during one of its regular meetings.

“It puts Crook County on the map,” Hermreck said. “It is to commend innovative county programs throughout the nation, so we not only competed with Oregon, we also competed with the rest of the nation.”

Plans for what would ultimately become the Belknap Exhibit Center started after Crook County purchased the old Hans Pharmacy property after it closed.

“It was important to replicate an historic building,” Burgess said, noting that the first thought was to put a facade of the Belknap house on the front of the Hans building. Then Barney and others determined that they could tear down the pharmacy and build a replica for close to the same cost.

The project was funded entirely by private donations and was completed in 2024.

“This was a private/public partnership,” Burgess said. “I was really proud of the county for thinking ahead almost 10 years ago to buy this piece of property, not knowing what might happen here.”

The Belknap Center features many interior and exterior nods to the past. Inside, people can find decor similar to what appeared in the original Belknap house, which serves as a backdrop to rotating exhibits the museum displays. Outside, a newly planted garden with a variety of flowers and a special gazebo, both of which are dedicated to prominent community members, accent the house and catch eyes from the street.

“The functionality of having 2,000 square feet is huge,” Burgess added.

Briscoe said the day-to-day impact of the Belknap Center on the museum has been exceptional.

“It has allowed us to bring in more visitors. We have seen an increase in tourism. It has allowed us to show off a different side of Crook County history … It has given our community a chance to see different parts of our collection that might be in our archives.”

Each of the people involved with the opening of the recently awarded Belknap Exhibit Center are quick to praise everyone involved in the process.

“I think Sean does a tremendous job in encouraging enthusiasm in the community and bringing in activities,” Hermreck said.

“It comes down to county support and the historical society board,” Briscoe added. “They provide the support to allow us to do all these fun activities and to be able to share our history. It’s a team effort.”