Sapulpa History

Announcements:

January 25, 2022

Sorry - Temporarily Closed

As a safety measure, we will be closed this week January 25 through January 29. Thank you for your continued support and your understanding. We apologize for any inconvenience. Be safe out there, Sapulpa.

January 8, 2022

Our Newspapers Are Digitized!

Ever wonder what happened in our town in 1904? Or wanted to know what the advertisements were for a business in the 1930s? Or wanted to see a family member's name in the news from the 1950s? Or needed to find an obituary of a friend from the 1990s? Or just want to look back a few years ago to see when a business opened or closed in the 2010s? Well, look no further - the answers are in the digitized newspapers. Click the link to find Sapulpa newspapers from 1904 to 2017:

Sapulpa Newspapers

December 1, 2021

Christmas Open House & Volunteer Luncheon

The Museum's Christmas Open House will be held next week, Thursday, December 9th, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
Come visit with us this holiday season!

Our Volunteers and Board Members will have a special appreciation luncheon, the Volunteer Luncheon, Wednesday, December 15, from 11 am to 1 pm.

September 1, 2021

Upcoming Events

The 20th Anniversary of September 11th and the 32nd Annual Route 66 Blowout
Saturday, September 11, 2021 starting at 9AM to 3PM

All museum buildings will be open! We have Popcorn at the Filling Station, Great Tour guides at the Museum, and a Book Signing at the Fire Museum!

Come in and join us!

In addition: the 50th class reunion event for the class of 1970 will be hosted at the Sapulpa Historical Museum.

July 1, 2021

Phase Three is Here, and (hopefully) to Stay!

Starting Tuesday, July 6, 2021, we will be opened to the public with our
regular business hours.

We Are Now Open:
Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM - 3 PM

May 1, 2021

Spring Open House

April 21, 2021

Fundraiser Announcement and Attachment

We are asking for your help and support during these difficult times. We greatly appreciate your contribution and support. Be sure to fill out the Attachment page to be included with your generous donation.

If you'd like to contact us:
(EMAIL) sapulpahistsoc@tulsacoxmail.com
(PHONE) Mike Jeffries, Museum Director, (918) 344-7843

Thank You and Stay Safe.

April 1, 2021

PHASE TWO REOPENING

Starting April 7th, the Sapulpa Historical Society has updated the business hours for public tours. Wednesday through Saturdays, 10 AM to 3 PM for all museums.

If you'd like to contact us:
(EMAIL) sapulpahistsoc@tulsacoxmail.com
(PHONE) Mike Jeffries, Museum Director, (918) 344-7843

Thank You and Stay Safe.

March 1, 2021

February 1, 2021

We are back and opened for business. Our hours are Thursdays - Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM.
Please come in and visit. We so miss giving tours!

December 1, 2020

As of November 19, these are the days we will PLAN to be closed. These dates will not change, but in the future dates may be added.

Dates We Plan To Be Closed:

November 22-December 2;
December 20-January 31.

Update: We will be closed until Thursday, February 4th, 2021. We will be opened Feb 4th, 10 AM - 3 PM; we will continue to have business hours Thursdays - Saturdays, 10 AM - 3 PM, starting Feb 4th. Thank you.

November 1, 2020

Special Travel Exhibit
"Votes for Women: 100 Years of Women's Suffrage"

The travel exhibit is from Oklahoma Historical Center featuring Oklahoma women and suffrage. 2020 celebrates the 100th anniversary for national women's vote. November 5, 2018, however, marked the 100 years of the women's right to vote in Oklahoma. Oklahoma became the twenty-first state to grant suffrage to women by vote of 106,909 to 81, 481. This exhibit explores a history of women since 1890 who were among the first in Oklahoma Territory to lobby for the right to vote. It started with the Women's Christian Temperance Union who wanted a voice in school elections. The grassroots efforts grew in 1895 when Laura A. Gregg, a National American Woman Suffrage leader, came to Oklahoma to push for universal right to vote.

This exhibit will be available from November 5 - December 19, 2020.

October 1, 2020

New Exhibition: Local Artists Room

The new room opens this month! The Local Artists Room will feature Sapulpa's (and the area's) artists of painters, quilters, sketchers, and knitters. We will soon add other artists' techniques to the room, such as potters, photographers, and more. For now, however, the room is designed with three main walls showcasing multiple artists throughout the town's history. Then the Feature Wall, the fourth wall, highlights one artist's collection the museum owns. This wall is the only wall that will consistently change, every six (6) months; every six months, another artist's collection will be highlighted on this wall. We have artworks from Dick Ruhl, Sam Houghton, Gale Wallace, Pahsetopah, Russell Crosby, Cleo Clark, and many more!

September 1, 2020

Oklahoma Route 66 Passports are here!

We are part of the Travel OK: Route 66 Passport program - come get your passport STAMPED here!!!*

*The date and time in the books have been changed due to Covid-19. The book states are regular hours (Tuesday-Saturday, 10 AM - 3 PM), however, due to the special hours, we are now open THURSDAY-Saturday, 10 AM - 3 PM.

What the Oklahoma Route 66 Passport means:

Bring your passport to each of the book's 66 stops, and the friendly folks there will stamp the corresponding page for you.
The book is divided into Eastern, Central and Western sections. Once you’ve got all the stops completed for a section, take the passport into one of the five Oklahoma Tourism Information Centers that are managed by the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department.
A staff member will sign your completion page for that region and give you your prize — a portion of a fun Route 66 magnet. Return once you get each stretch finished to get the other magnet pieces.
Once you complete all three sections, bring your passport back to the Tourism Information Center. A staff member will verify that it's complete, stamp your book and give you a free collectible Route 66 coin.

Find Out More About the Oklahoma Route 66 Passport Here

May 1, 2020

PHASE ONE REOPENING

Starting June 4th, 2020, the Sapulpa Historical Society has updated the business hours for public tours. Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 AM to 3 PM for all museums.

If you'd like to contact us:
(EMAIL) sapulpahistsoc@tulsacoxmail.com
(PHONE) Mike Jeffries, Museum Director, (918) 344-7843

Thank You and Stay Safe.

January 1, 2020

"Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry"

A special travel exhibit from the Oklahoma History Center will be featured on the third floor of the museum, in Saunders' Hall. The event will be from February 27 to May 2.

November 1, 2019

Christmas Open House: A Gene Autry Christmas
Thursday, December 12: 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Did you know that Gene Autry worked at Sapulpa's depot?
The Christmas Cowboy co-wrote and sang Christmas songs that we still cherish today - such as Rudolph (Red Nose Reindeer), Frosty the Snowman, Here Comes Santa Claus, and Up on the House Top.
In a way, you can say that dear ol' Rudolph is from Sapulpa!
We will have hot apple cider, desserts, and wonderful docents to greet you during your tour of Sapulpa history.

April 1, 2019

We have begun our next project. A local artist, Kenneth Hollingshead, has painted the Black-and-White murals on the front of the Sapulpa Historical Society & Museum's building. Another local artist, Russell Crosby, has painted the Color mural on the west end of the Sapulpa Historical Society & Museum's building. We have seven murals of historic images in Sapulpa.

August 1, 2018

We celebrated turning the big 5-0 on August 25, 2018. We hosted our very own birthday party with food, cake, guest speakers, and a huge crowd eager to learn the history of this great town! In 1968, we started in a small room of the Y.W.C.A., and within fifty years, we not only own the entire building, we expanded to the whole block; we opened the Sapulpa Fire Museum and the Waite Phillips Barnsdall Filling Station.

See our pictures here:

50th Celbration