The Active Historian

Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to show you around the Sapulpa Historical Society Museum and share some of the local stories I learned from Rachel and Tiffany. They say this museum is “the best kept secret in Oklahoma” so you know it’s got to be good! Let’s get started!

Museum History

The museum building is three stories tall and was originally built in 1910. The bottom floor was home to various businesses throughout the years, the second floor was a hotel, and the third floor contained a ballroom and college classrooms.

In 1922, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) took over the second floor. They occupied it until 1968 and then chose to donate the building to the Sapulpa Historical Society. The Sapulpa Historical Society was founded in 1968.

The Sapulpa Historical Society spent several years renovating the building and opened to the public in the late 1970s. Over time, the museum collected more and more items expanding the museum to cover the first and second floors. The offices and archives occupy the third floor.

Eventually, the Sapulpa Historical Society acquired the buildings for the Sapulpa Fire Museum and Waite Phillips-Barnsdall Filling Station as well.

TRAVEL TIP: You have to visit the Sapulpa Historical Society to be let into the Sapulpa Fire Museum and Waite-Phillips Company buildings.

*The Museum’s website has an excellent page with the history of the town of Sapulpa. If you want to know more about the town I recommend reading that page!

Exhibitions

The museum’s exhibitions cover the first and second floors of the building. I wandered around the first floor and learned a lot of history, but I was crunched for time and didn’t make it up to the second floor on this trip. Everything you see in this blog post is on the first floor of the museum!

Models

This 1895 model of Sapulpa was super neat! In the next room over, there were model train stations that showed the progress of the town.

Max Meyer

Max Meyer ran a clothing store in Sapulpa and would travel to New York to buy ugly, cheap fabric to make clothing that the people in Sapulpa could afford to buy. You can see examples of the bright yellow clothes he made in the photos below.

His son went on to become an author and wrote books about his dad’s life. He wrote several books in his career which were considered a success. The orange covered book in the photo below was the book about his father, Max Meyer.

Chief Sapulpa

The Sapulpa Bicentennial Committee plaque next to the statue reads:

“By the Treaty of 1828, 1,200 Creeks of Southeastern United States were required to emigrate to the Western lands assigned to their nation. At first they steeled mostly on the Eastern side of Indian Territory. About 1833 the Creeks began to move West along the Arkansas River. Among them from Oschee, Alabama, was a young man named Sapulpa, later Chief Sapulpa. In the new lands Sapulpa met and married his first wife, Cho-Pok-Sa. About 1850 Sapulpa set up a store at his home, one mile Southeast of the present townsite of Sapulpa. Due to transportation costs Sapulpa had to close his store and concentrate on ranching. After the Civil War in 1879 a store was started by Sam Brown, a Euchee, near Sapulpa’s old store. Nearby on Rock Creek there was an inn run by Nancy Brunner. Prior to the coming of the railroad the little Trading Center is believed to have been known as Cone Hutchee (Creek for Polecat) Crossing. February 12, 1898, Sapulpa was incorporated with a population of more than 400. In April, 1898, R.M. Powell, Republican, was elected as the first Mayor.”

The Chief Sapulpa statue was originally outside another building, but after it was weatherproofed they decided to not return it outside rather they wanted it to be placed in the museum. It took a team of 8-9 firefighters to carry the statue into the building because it is in one piece and is very heavy!

Sapulpa High School

I love seeing the uniforms and letterman jackets from the local high schools!

Various Demo Rooms & Settings

There were several staged demo rooms with different settings. Examples included the livery & feed stable, grocery store, classroom, kitchen, home, and church spaces.

There was also extensive information on Gene Autry which was fun to read!

Concluding Thoughts

I enjoyed visiting this museum and learning about the history of Sapulpa. The workers and volunteers were super kind and excited to share their stories. I am grateful to both Rachel and Tiffany for taking time to walk around and show me the cool things in the museum.

I hope you’ll visit this museum next time you’re driving down Route 66 in Oklahoma or visiting Sapulpa for the Route 66 Christmas Chute!

Make sure to ask for a self-guided tour brochure when you get there because it has a ton of other great information in it!

Happy traveling! I’ll talk to ya soon 🙂

Visit

100 E Lee Ave

Sapulpa, OK 74066

Sources

Staff members – Rachael & Tiffany

“Sapulpa Historical Museum Self-Guide Map” – Brochure

Sapulpa Historical Society – Website