Press Release
December 20, 2019
Contact: Nathan Turner
Oklahoma Territorial Museum, Oklahoma Historical Society
Office: 405-282-1889
nturner@okhistory.org
www.okhistory.org/territorialmuseum
Oklahoma Territorial Museum Temporarily Closed for Mold Abatement
GUTHRIE, Okla. — The Oklahoma Historical Society (OHS) has announced that the Oklahoma Territorial Museum (OTM) will be closed during the month of January for mold abatement.
“The museum has a mold problem and will be undergoing some serious and invasive housekeeping,” said Nathan Turner, OHS regional director. “No toxic or black mold has been found at the museum, but even non-toxic mold can cause a lot of damage to the building and artifacts, and it is not a healthy environment for the staff to continue working in.”
“The museum has undergone several facilities improvement projects over these past few years, including waterproofing the basement and repair of the Carnegie Library steps, thanks to the Long-Range Capital Improvement Fund created by the Oklahoma Legislature,” continued Turner.
Though mold is an unwelcome and unexpected problem, staff members are viewing this as an opportunity to continue with improvements. The roofers are already on the premises working to fix the leaks, and a professional mold abatement team will arrive in January and begin work on the interior walls of the Carnegie Library.
“This means the museum staff has to remove all artifacts to a safe location and clean every single item before rehousing and returning the item to the newly cleaned storage area,” said OTM Collections Curator Erin Brown. While the staff members work on cleaning artifacts, the mold abatement crew will clean all office spaces. Furniture and other contents must be cleaned and scrubbed before returning to the fresh space to ensure that mold is not reintroduced.
“While all of this is going on, the museum staff will be unable to communicate quickly,” said Turner. “Once the offices are again set up and phones, computers and the internet are all up and running again, staff will respond to calls and emails as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and will do our best to get things finished quickly. In the meantime we ask for your patience and understanding.”
The public can keep up with the progress of the abatement through the museum’s Facebook page and get a peek behind the scenes at www.facebook.com/OklahomaTerritorialMuseum.
The Oklahoma Territorial Museum and Carnegie Library is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit www.okhistory.org.
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