History of Sapulpa
Our Town, Our People, Our Sapulpa
Native American History
Sapulpa was born of full-blood Creek Native American from the Georgia-Alabama area. As always noted when biographies of Sapulpa are written, Sapulpa was not actually a ‘chief’ of his tribe, but did have a place of influence. Sapulpa was well-educated, well-traveled, and learned to speak English. Because of his education, Sapulpa began to trade and establish relationships with merchants and customers. The Trail of Tears (1830s to 1850), the forced relocation of many Indigenous Peoples from their cultural homes, Sapulpa, would too, move to the Territories sometime before 1850.
It is unknown officially what Sapulpa’s name was, actually. Viewing the Civil War discharge papers, it spells his name another way. Suspulber. But you have to remember the time-period; many common words were misspelled because it was how you sounded it out. There’s another story that Suspulber was a shortened version of his given Christian name: Sepulcher. What Merle Sapulpa (his great-grandson) told the Historical Society was that he believed it was actually an Italian word or phrase. Merle believed that when the train and railroad workers came to the area, it was mostly Italian workers. And somehow or another, the Italian name, word, or phrase became associated with him. The family of Sapulpa still go by the name today.
The Muscogee Creeks belonged to the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia area before the Trail of Tears. The Yuchi (Euchee) Tribe lived near and alongside the same areas of the Muscogee, along Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina areas. The two tribes are not blood related, however.
The Euchee Mission Boarding School began in 1891. It expanded in 1894, and became a large campus-like facility. The school was about 40 acres. It stood what was then considered “1 mile east of town.” The boarding school closed in 1947 when the city purchased the lot. It’s now the Sapulpa High School, Jr. High, the then Woodlawn Elementary, now Holmes Park Elementary, and a football field. Residential areas surround these now city school facilities. Today, there is a small Yuchi facility just outside of Sapulpa, teaching the Yuchi languages and culture. The Yuchi language is different from any other Indigenous language. In 1997, it was estimated only 300 Yuchis existed. By 2000, it was estimated only 15 spoke the Yuchi language fluently. In 2011, only five.
Railroad & Oil
Sapulpa would not be a town without the railroad. Red Fork, just outside of Sapulpa and Tulsa, was experiencing an oil boom. The Atlantic & Pacific Railway wanted to connect Red Fork and Tulsa. Eventually, the line would extend to the area of Sapulpa.
Sapulpa, himself, had a Trading Post established near a blacksmith shop. As the railroad expanded to this area, they named the station “Sapulpa Station.” The railroad line was extended to Sapulpa in 1883 for freighting out the walnut logs found on the banks of Rock Creek. In 1886, the first passenger train came down. Sapulpa’s son, William, took his father over to Tulsa at the invitation of the Frisco officials to ride on the first passenger train into Sapulpa. He was given two brass spittoons from that train.
Sapulpa township would become the “End of the Line” destination from 1884-1899, as tracks ended at Sapulpa from the Tulsa area. Frisco became the new Atlantic & Pacific near the mid- to late-1880s. Sapulpa would be designated at the Frisco hub, a headquarters, as tracks branched out from here across the state and country. By 1927, Frisco reassigned the headquarters to Tulsa.
The town began to grow. And as more and more people arrived, businesses grew and prospered. One business was the oil industry. Sapulpa often gave itself nicknames throughout its history. Sapulpa was always in rivals with Tulsa and Bristow - more on that later. But one thing we boasted the most about was that we were the “Oil City of the Southwest.” There’s a myth about Sapulpa. Visitors often come to the museum stating Sapulpa was once larger than Tulsa. This is not true. We had the illusion of being a large town to compete with Tulsa.
Eventually, as the town grew, another means of transportation came to mind. Another way to get around town, though, was the Sapulpa Interurban. The trolley tracks were built in 1908 and ran throughout the whole town. It also connected to Tulsa, Kiefer, and Mounds. However, due to the Great Depression, funding ran out and it began to close up shop. It became the Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway.
Businesses
Many various businesses thrived in Sapulpa, outside the Frisco railroad and oil. At one time cotton was a major crop in this area, and Oklahoma’s largest cotton compress was located in Sapulpa. The town also distributed bricks from the Sapulpa Brick Company. Sapulpa has two of the longest-running still in operation buildings that are used for the original purpose in Oklahoma: CourtHouse (built in 1914) and Carnegie Library (built in 1917).
As stated earlier, Sapulpa had many nicknames. One such nickname we gave ourselves was “Crystal City of the Southwest.” This is referring to the wide variety of glass factories Sapulpa once had. At one time, in the Teens and 20s, Sapulpa had at least six glass factories working. They all made a little different brands, though; like one was building windshields, one was building windows for homes, and another manufactured fruit jars.
Bartlett Collin Glass Factory did more houseware. They manufactured pitchers, plates, and cups. And these were all hand painted. Many homes all over the country still have these glasswares in use in their kitchens and dining sets. BC also created special glasses for important occasions. Of such, the museum has a large collection of Senior Years, Banquet glasses, and Class Reunion glasses.
On the other hand, Liberty Glass Factory made more commercial ware. They made milk bottles, Pepsi bottles, beer bottles, and even glass mailboxes. Why would they make glass mailboxes? Seems a little dangerous when we think about modern society. But this is during war time, of World War II. During these times, there was a shortage of rubber, coffee, and metal. So, Liberty Glass said, we’ll make everything out of glass; and they did.
Sapulpa didn’t just have oil, Frisco, and glass. Sapulpa also built pottery. The Frankoma Pottery used the resources in the area to manufacture many pottery styles. The most famous design is the wagon wheel; and their most famous colors were blue and green. There is now a Frankoma Pottery company in Glenpool.
Schools
One of the earliest schools in Sapulpa was a subscription school called Dewey College. Started by Henry Land, a Muscogee Creek. The original school was located in the 200 block of North Linden Street. He built a two-and-a-half story building not far from the railroad tracks. Admiral Dewey was still the hero of the day, so Land called the school “Dewey College.” Soon thereafter Dewey College was moved to the 200 block of East Dewey, where our present-day Creek County Court House stands.
In 1904, a new Washington school was completed at the corner of Lee and Maple streets. Until 1908, Washington was the ward school handling all grades. That year Woodlawn was built, Jefferson and Garfield were finished in 1909, and Liberty and Forest Park, grades one through four, were built in 1921.
In 1921 fire broke out in the roof of Washington School and did so much damage that the top floor had to be torn off. Later additions were added as needed, and parts of the building rebuilt.
A new high school was built in the 900 block of East Dewey in 1918.
In the summer of 1936 the Washington School building was declared unsafe. It was razed in 1937 and rebuilt as a WPA project, housing Washington elementary and Junior High classes. The high school building on East Dewey was deemed to be unsafe, and was torn down in 1969 after the present-day high school building was built on the former Euchee Mission site.
Sapulpa was born of full-blood Creek Native American from the Georgia-Alabama area. As always noted when biographies of Sapulpa are written, Sapulpa was not actually a ‘chief’ of his tribe, but did have a place of influence. Sapulpa was well-educated, well-traveled, and learned to speak English. Because of his education, Sapulpa began to trade and establish relationships with merchants and customers. The Trail of Tears (1830s to 1850), the forced relocation of many Indigenous Peoples from their cultural homes, Sapulpa, would too, move to the Territories sometime before 1850.
It is unknown officially what Sapulpa’s name was, actually. Viewing the Civil War discharge papers, it spells his name another way. Suspulber. But you have to remember the time-period; many common words were misspelled because it was how you sounded it out. There’s another story that Suspulber was a shortened version of his given Christian name: Sepulcher. What Merle Sapulpa (his great-grandson) told the Historical Society was that he believed it was actually an Italian word or phrase. Merle believed that when the train and railroad workers came to the area, it was mostly Italian workers. And somehow or another, the Italian name, word, or phrase became associated with him. The family of Sapulpa still go by the name today.
The Muscogee Creeks belonged to the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia area before the Trail of Tears. The Yuchi (Euchee) Tribe lived near and alongside the same areas of the Muscogee, along Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina areas. The two tribes are not blood related, however.
The Euchee Mission Boarding School began in 1891. It expanded in 1894, and became a large campus-like facility. The school was about 40 acres. It stood what was then considered “1 mile east of town.” The boarding school closed in 1947 when the city purchased the lot. It’s now the Sapulpa High School, Jr. High, the then Woodlawn Elementary, now Holmes Park Elementary, and a football field. Residential areas surround these now city school facilities. Today, there is a small Yuchi facility just outside of Sapulpa, teaching the Yuchi languages and culture. The Yuchi language is different from any other Indigenous language. In 1997, it was estimated only 300 Yuchis existed. By 2000, it was estimated only 15 spoke the Yuchi language fluently. In 2011, only five.
Railroad & Oil
Sapulpa would not be a town without the railroad. Red Fork, just outside of Sapulpa and Tulsa, was experiencing an oil boom. The Atlantic & Pacific Railway wanted to connect Red Fork and Tulsa. Eventually, the line would extend to the area of Sapulpa.
Sapulpa, himself, had a Trading Post established near a blacksmith shop. As the railroad expanded to this area, they named the station “Sapulpa Station.” The railroad line was extended to Sapulpa in 1883 for freighting out the walnut logs found on the banks of Rock Creek. In 1886, the first passenger train came down. Sapulpa’s son, William, took his father over to Tulsa at the invitation of the Frisco officials to ride on the first passenger train into Sapulpa. He was given two brass spittoons from that train.
Sapulpa township would become the “End of the Line” destination from 1884-1899, as tracks ended at Sapulpa from the Tulsa area. Frisco became the new Atlantic & Pacific near the mid- to late-1880s. Sapulpa would be designated at the Frisco hub, a headquarters, as tracks branched out from here across the state and country. By 1927, Frisco reassigned the headquarters to Tulsa.
The town began to grow. And as more and more people arrived, businesses grew and prospered. One business was the oil industry. Sapulpa often gave itself nicknames throughout its history. Sapulpa was always in rivals with Tulsa and Bristow - more on that later. But one thing we boasted the most about was that we were the “Oil City of the Southwest.” There’s a myth about Sapulpa. Visitors often come to the museum stating Sapulpa was once larger than Tulsa. This is not true. We had the illusion of being a large town to compete with Tulsa.
Eventually, as the town grew, another means of transportation came to mind. Another way to get around town, though, was the Sapulpa Interurban. The trolley tracks were built in 1908 and ran throughout the whole town. It also connected to Tulsa, Kiefer, and Mounds. However, due to the Great Depression, funding ran out and it began to close up shop. It became the Tulsa-Sapulpa Union Railway.
Businesses
Many various businesses thrived in Sapulpa, outside the Frisco railroad and oil. At one time cotton was a major crop in this area, and Oklahoma’s largest cotton compress was located in Sapulpa. The town also distributed bricks from the Sapulpa Brick Company. Sapulpa has two of the longest-running still in operation buildings that are used for the original purpose in Oklahoma: CourtHouse (built in 1914) and Carnegie Library (built in 1917).
As stated earlier, Sapulpa had many nicknames. One such nickname we gave ourselves was “Crystal City of the Southwest.” This is referring to the wide variety of glass factories Sapulpa once had. At one time, in the Teens and 20s, Sapulpa had at least six glass factories working. They all made a little different brands, though; like one was building windshields, one was building windows for homes, and another manufactured fruit jars.
Bartlett Collin Glass Factory did more houseware. They manufactured pitchers, plates, and cups. And these were all hand painted. Many homes all over the country still have these glasswares in use in their kitchens and dining sets. BC also created special glasses for important occasions. Of such, the museum has a large collection of Senior Years, Banquet glasses, and Class Reunion glasses.
On the other hand, Liberty Glass Factory made more commercial ware. They made milk bottles, Pepsi bottles, beer bottles, and even glass mailboxes. Why would they make glass mailboxes? Seems a little dangerous when we think about modern society. But this is during war time, of World War II. During these times, there was a shortage of rubber, coffee, and metal. So, Liberty Glass said, we’ll make everything out of glass; and they did.
Sapulpa didn’t just have oil, Frisco, and glass. Sapulpa also built pottery. The Frankoma Pottery used the resources in the area to manufacture many pottery styles. The most famous design is the wagon wheel; and their most famous colors were blue and green. There is now a Frankoma Pottery company in Glenpool.
Schools
One of the earliest schools in Sapulpa was a subscription school called Dewey College. Started by Henry Land, a Muscogee Creek. The original school was located in the 200 block of North Linden Street. He built a two-and-a-half story building not far from the railroad tracks. Admiral Dewey was still the hero of the day, so Land called the school “Dewey College.” Soon thereafter Dewey College was moved to the 200 block of East Dewey, where our present-day Creek County Court House stands.
In 1904, a new Washington school was completed at the corner of Lee and Maple streets. Until 1908, Washington was the ward school handling all grades. That year Woodlawn was built, Jefferson and Garfield were finished in 1909, and Liberty and Forest Park, grades one through four, were built in 1921.
In 1921 fire broke out in the roof of Washington School and did so much damage that the top floor had to be torn off. Later additions were added as needed, and parts of the building rebuilt.
A new high school was built in the 900 block of East Dewey in 1918.
In the summer of 1936 the Washington School building was declared unsafe. It was razed in 1937 and rebuilt as a WPA project, housing Washington elementary and Junior High classes. The high school building on East Dewey was deemed to be unsafe, and was torn down in 1969 after the present-day high school building was built on the former Euchee Mission site.
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Sapulpa is located just southwest of Tulsa (approx. 25 min away from Downtown Tulsa). Our town is located along the Historic Route 66 (connecting East to West) and Highway 75 (connecting North to South). The connection in our city makesSapulpa "the Crossroads of America."
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Sapulpa Historical Society & Museum 100 E Lee Ave, Sapulpa, OK 74066 Midtown Mini Storage 114 E Lee Ave, Sapulpa, OK 74066 |
Sapulpa Fire Museum 124 E Lee Ave, Sapulpa, OK 74066 Waite Phillips-Barnsdall Filling Station Museum 26 E Lee Ave, Sapulpa, OK 74066 |