UNDER NEW LIGHTING: J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum undergoes light project

Chelsea Weeks, Claremore Daily Progress, Okla.
·2 min read

Nov. 1—Artifacts at the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum will soon be seen in a new light.

The museum will be closed through November as a new LED lighting system is installed throughout the building.

"The 40,000-square-foot building has 948 lighting outlets, including 600 display cases," Executive Director Wayne McCombs said. "This is a massive project."

This will be the museum's first interior light renovation, he said.

"We still have the same ballasts and you know, the wiring and things like that from 1968," he said.

The J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum is the world's largest privately held arms museum and was opened on June 27, 1969. The museum has 11,000 firearms and 50,000 items on display. Collections range from Native American artifacts and antique musical instruments to saddles, spurs and steins. The museum also houses the "Roy Clark Story" exhibit.

McCombs said the project will make the museum look brighter and more professional and save the museum around $2,000 a month in electric bills.

"That's money that we can use for other purposes here at the museum," he said.

McCombs said lighting is important because UV rays can damage artifacts.

During the project, McCombs said they also will be deep cleaning the artifacts in the cases.

The project is funded through the U.S Department of Energy State Energy Program Lighting grant and the Oklahoma Legislature.

McCombs said the grant was around $234,000 and was awarded in 2020.

Supply chain problems and inflation caused the cost of the project to increase, he said.

"So, the rates went up and the delivery time went down," he said.

He said due to expenses increases, the grant wasn't enough to cover the cost of the project. So, he called in the Legislature to help.

"So fortunately, fortunately, state representatives and senators — I asked for some more money," he said. "I asked for 144,000 more dollars to complete it and they said yes."

McCombs said the total project is $376,000.

"Each year, the state appropriations budget is essentially a statement about legislative priorities," District 9 House Representative Mark Lepak said. "Engaged legislators sift through all agency budget requests to ensure those priorities are addressed. There is a certain amount of discussion outside of committee and floor work that necessarily has to occur. In this case, it was easy to point to the energy savings from a conversion to LED for this one-time investment."