The Active Historian

Hey, friend! Welcome back to another post! Today, I want to show you around the Waite Phillips-Barnsdall Filling Station Museum in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Let’s get started!

Waite Phillips Company

Waite Phillips was the younger brother of Frank and L.E. Phillips. They were both successful businessmen in the oil industry. Waite opened two companies in 1922, the Waite Phillips Company and the Independent Oil and Gas Company. He later sold the company in a merger deal.

Waite Phillips was a successful businessman and made what many would consider a fortune. He built the beautiful Villa Philbrook in Tulsa as a residence and it was eventually gifted to the Southwestern Art Association. The organization established the Philbrook Museum of Art. He also donated to multiple charities including the Boy Scouts of America.

Barnsdall Oil Company

The community of Barnsdall was renamed for Theodore N. Barnsdall in 1922. The Bigheart Oil Field had been discovered in 1916 and was making a fortune. In 1921, Barnsdall purchased the Bigheart Producing and Refining Company. The Barnsdall Oil Company was renamed the Bareco Oil Company nearly two decades later in 1940. The company stopped refining oil in 1946 and moved onto other ventures. The plant switched hands a few times and became the largest manufacturer of microcrystalline waxes.

Gas Pumps

Check out these old gas pumps in front of the building! An attendant would stand by the pump and grab the red handle. They would physically pump the gas up into the glass container on the top and then with the help of gravity release however many gallons the customer wanted!

Cars in the Garage

How cool are these old cars? The top car is a 1922 model and the bottom car is a 1927 model. The museum occasionally drives the cars in parades through town!

Concluding Thoughts

This museum was neat and I’m so glad that Rachel let me see the inside of it. I learned more about the oil industry in Oklahoma and got to see the really cool cars! I hope you’ll make time to visit this museum on your next trip to Sapulpa!

Happy traveling! I’ll talk to ya soon 🙂

Visit

26 E Lee Ave

Sapulpa, OK 74066

Sources

Rachel – Sapulpa Historical Society Museum Curator

Sapulpa Historical Society – Website

Jon D. May. “Barnsdall.” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.

Andrea Martin. “Phillips, Waite.” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.

Dustin O’Connor. “Barnsdall, Theodore Newton.” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.