BILLINGS—In 1899, a flourishing township not far over the Garfield County line in Noble County officially formed as Billings. Residents had relocated there following the Land Run of 1893 when the railway chose to route a spur line out of North Enid to that location rather than the already formed township of White Rock five miles southeast.
Among those residents was Dr. Thomas Renfrow, who set up his medical practice in Billings. As the only doctor in that part of Oklahoma Territory, patients far and wide relied on him for health care.
To do so, he built a two-story red sandstone home and carriage house south of Billings’ Main Street to serve not only as his family residence, but also as his doctor’s office. He also made house calls in north central Oklahoma on horseback or by horse and buggy.
For 50 years Renfrow practiced medicine in Billings as well as oversaw construction of other sandstone buildings and homes in town.
He also spent two years in France during World War I commanding a field hospital. Well into his 70s by World War II, the “grand old man of medicine,” as he was affectionately known by the locals, suffered a stroke and moved into the veterans’ home in Arkansas, where he passed in 1954.
The Renfrow home was purchased in 1963 by Ora Miller, a Billings native whose father and uncle were both involved its construction. She rescued it from disrepair and lived there for 25 years until her death in 1988.
The property was deeded to the Billings Historical Society by her nephew and heir, Cecil Prince, for preservation of the property as a tribute to Oklahoma pioneers. This historical society was a small group of Billings citizens who wanted to preserve local history and restore the home now known as the Renfrow-Miller Museum.
This Billings landmark with its unusual architecture is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is what often draws tourists off the beaten path to this rural community of 500 or so residents.
But what really put Billings on the map was when local farmer Henry Bellmon was elected as Oklahoma’s first Republican governor in 1962, breaking the Democrats’ stronghold on that office after 55 years of statehood. He defeated Democratic opponent William Atkinson by more than 72,000 votes in a record 655,000 ballots cast.
The Billings High alum who graduated from Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University) in 1942 with a degree in agronomy had immediately entered World War II like most the young men in Northwest Oklahoma did. He served as a tank platoon leader in the U.S. Marines in the Pacific and was awarded the Legion of Merit and a Silver Star for bravery during the battle in Iwo Jima.
Following his return from the war, Bellmon had planned to return to settle down and farm in the Billings area. But things he had seen overseas influenced him to consider a secondary path into legislation, said his daughter Ann Bellmon Denney during a recent interview.
“He felt he could make a difference,” she said, so he ran for and secured a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1946.
In the meantime, Bellmon met and married another Billings native, Shirley Lee Osborn, who willingly stood by her new husband’s side in advocating for her community and state. They had three daughters—Pat, Gail, and Ann—along the way as they farmed the Bellmon centennial homestead east of Billings.
He bulldozed land for a pond on the property and then built the home Denney now resides in 1960. His wife, a renowned creative and entrepreneurial spirit, designed the stained-glass artwork inside the house.
Denney said her father was more of a statesman rather than a politician. He preferred to be in the seat of his tractor in overalls over a government seat in a suit. However, she said, duty called and he stepped up once again when the Republican party needed a candidate for governor.
For the next 30 years Bellmon wasn’t in Billings for more than a weekend here and there. He served a term as governor, stationed in Oklahoma City, followed by two terms in Washington, D.C., as one of Oklahoma’s U.S. senators. Then he was elected governor again in 1986.
While Bellmon was in congress with electoral leaders, his wife was in congress with women in her hometown. She had her own clothing label, Shir-Lee, and operated several local businesses in downtown Billings including First Lady Doll Factory and First Lady Café.
“Mom was a champion for Billings,” Denney said, adding her dad was more of a behind-the-scenes guy, quietly working in the background to boost the town’s economy. He also remained steadfast in the fields, planting acres of wheat plus planting a pecan grove in the mid-1990s. (Today Denney still collects those pecans and sells them under the name Bellmon’s Bounty through local co-ops, farmer’s markets, and other vendor sites.)
Shirley Bellmon unexpectedly passed away in 2000.
The following year the townspeople opened the Bellmon Library & Museum in a sandstone building near the Renfrow-Miller Museum to preserve the legacy of the Bellmons. In honor of the Bellmons’ contributions to the state of Oklahoma, the museum showcased items from both their personal and professional lives.
Henry Bellmon passed in 2009 at the age of 88.
Unfortunately, the museum’s roof began to collapse more than a decade ago and it was too costly to repair or maintain, Denney said, so she made the tough decision to close it. Artifacts were either dispersed between the Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma State University, and the Renfrow & Miller Museum or auctioned off.
After receiving several of the Bellmon artifacts, the Renfrow & Miller Museum expanded and opened an auxiliary building on the south side of the house in 2017 nicknamed “the barn” to better display everything. Among the items visitors can see in the barn are Shirley Bellmon’s dolls, Shir-Lee dresses, her café sign, Henry Bellmon’s executive desk used when he was governor, and several campaign materials.
As for the house, visitors can walk back in time and see memorabilia, photos, and furniture from an era gone by. Only a few of Renfrow’s actual medical instruments remain; most of the relics in the home are meant to symbolize what life was like a century ago in Billings.
Under the guidance of its president and a former Billings business owner, Robert Hartz, the Billings Historical Society has strived to preserve the town’s history as best as volunteers can.
Membership has dwindled—most everyone who knew the town’s history best has passed—but eight to 10 members still meet once a month, including Hartz’s daughter and the vice-president, Donna Nightengale.
The historical house was sinking, so funds had to be raised or time and materials donated to jack the walls back up.
“As long as we can maintain it, we will keep it going,” said Nightengale, who grew up in Billings, built a house with her husband there, and still helps her dad and brother on the family farm outside of town.
The Billings community, she and her father both said, is a generous one, and many are invested in keeping the town’s history alive.
The Renfrow & Miller Museum, which includes the partial collection from the former Bellmon Library & Museum, is open by appointment only. Call (580) 725-3610. Admission is free, but donations are accepted.