Then and Now Images of Sapulpa

On the corner of Lee and Oak:

• (Then) First Cadillac ambulance in Sapulpa, in front of Buffington Brothers Funeral Home (later Smith Funeral Home), Presbyterian Church, circa 1920s
• (Now) First Presbyterian Church, 2019.

Did You Know...

Sapulpa schools opened on the 11th of September, 1905 with 554 enrolled (446 in attendance the first week). "Attendance will be much larger as cool weather approach. Some sickness now." The number of students in each grade level:

• First Grade = 64,
• Second Grade = 64 & 63
• Third Grade = 63,
• Fourth Grade = 44,
• Fifth Grade = 51,
• Sixth Grade = 40,
• Seventh Grade = 21, and
• Eighth Grade through Eleventh Grade = 36 (each grade level).

This is a significant rise in enrollment from the previous year; September 12th, 194, 400 enrolled with 12 teachers.
(Sapulpa Light, September 15, 1905)

Artifact(s) of the Month:

In honor of the Sapulpa Route 66 Blowout, we pulled out a few of our license plates we have in our collection. The Blowout is scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 9 AM -4 PM.

​The order of the numeric county codes used from 1952-61 was based on the populations of each county according to the 1950 U.S. Census, and the order of the codes used in 1962 was based on the populations of each county according to the 1960 Census.

Creek County Coding:

• Numeric Codes (1952-1961) - "10"
• Numeric Codes (1962) - "11"
• 2-Letter Codes (1963-1982) - "CK" "CJ" or "CU"
• 3-Letter Codes (1971-1982) - "CKK"

What have we been up to?

1. We have remodeled a few exhibitions upstairs;
2. We have completely finished the exhibition at the Fire Museum;
3. We have had a lot of great tourists come in and check the museums out;
4. We have also a new exhibition coming soon (STAY TUNED - You do NOT want to miss this!);
5. We have also rented a traveling exhibition - (COMING THIS CHRISTMAS!!);
6. And lastly, 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.

Tourism:

The furthest visitor we had coming to the museum:

• In Oklahoma: Weatherford, OK (approx. 163 miles away)
• In the United States: Costa Mesa, California (approx. 1,456 miles away).

Don't forget to check us out on Instagram​!

Then and Now images of Sapulpa...

There are not many streets for downtown Sapulpa, but Main St and Dewey Ave corner are the most popular images of the area you'll see. This image is taken on the corner of Lee Ave and Main St.

• (Then) circa 1912, Main and Lee image, looking north. St. James Hotel building and Sapulpa Hotel (later Loraine Hotel) can be seen on each front corners.
• (Now) 2018, Main and Lee. Main St has changed in the area; St. James Hotel was demolished in the 1960s, and Loraine Hotel and the neighboring businesses burned on December 2, 1949.

Did You Know...

(Sapulpa Herald, August 5, 1944) The Herald would publish stories about local service men almost on a daily basis during World War I and World War II. One was about T-Sgt Leon Rainwater who had just completed his 35th mission over Europe (during WWII). He was at a hospital recovering from nerve shock and ear injuries. He planned on being home soon. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. L.R. Rainwater and husband to Edith Rainwater.*

*Bonus* Leon (known as Roy) Rainwater opened a jewelry store, Rainwater Jewelry, in 1956. The second article above talks about the store celebrating its 40th Anniversary.

​

Artifact of the Month:

The image shows a spiral staircase that has been put on display at the Sapulpa Fire Museum. The spiral staircase is from the Sapulpa High School (1918-1969) building, from the auditorium. There was a pair of spiral staircases on either side of the stage. The museum has one and was set up in the Fire Museum as a display piece for the mezzanine to the fire fighters quarters.

The research department has been busy with many, many research requests! People have been asking about their home history, a business or building history, and family history. We at the museum have even discovered new information about our little town that we did not know existed! It has been pretty fascinating researching the history of Sapulpa.

We have been opened to the public this month! All our museums, including the newly remodeled Fire Museum, are opened to the public for tours, Thursday-Saturday, 10 AM - 3 PM.

We have recently started our Instagram page. We are posting everyday, one picture at a time, of our image inventory. Come check us out!

Then and Now Images of Sapulpa:

(Then) 1920, The Fair Store, at 13-15 N Main St, was "Sapulpa's greatest and largest" department store.

(Now) 2020, Whimsical Willow Boutique & Spa and Matheson Law offices

Did You Know...

​The Sapulpa school board approved of school time change, as well as, adding classes to teach Native American languages.

The Middle School would change from a start at 8 AM to a start at 7:50; while ending at 2:32 PM. The Jr High and High School would end at 2:40 PM, while Elementary would end at 3:30.

In addition to these changes, Native American language courses would begin. The courses to be taught were the Creek and Cherokee languages; this proposal had been on the agenda for two years, and would be approved later that year. (Sapulpa Herald, July 9, 1996)