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Sapulpa
Some 15 miles beyond
Tulsa, you
will arrive at
Sapulpa,
Oklahoma, a city proud of its
Route 66 and
Native American heritage. Five countries have flown their
flag over this area over the centuries -
Spain, France, England, Mexico, and the
United States of America. During the Civil War, the Choctaw
Indian Nation flew its flag over the territory also. Sapulpa's
history is rich in
Indian and early American folklore.
Sapulpa got its start in 1850
when Jim Sapulpa, a Creek
Indian, came to the area from Alabama. Establishing a farm
on Rock Creek, about one mile southeast of the present city, he soon
operated a store in his home, hauling supplies from Fort Smith,
Arkansas.
By the
treaty of 1865, the Creek
Indians gave the right-of-way to the
St. Louis-San
Francisco Railroad and the railway extended its line to the present
site of
Sapulpa in 1886. Though the terminus was not given an
official name in the beginning, the railroad men called it
Sapulpa after the area's first settler.
Before long the city became an important
cattle-shipping center and a Fred Harvey Hotel operated at the
railroad station. In 1889 a post office was opened and the town
was incorporated in 1898.
Train Depot and Harvey House vintage
postcard.
Although oil had been found at Chelsea in
1889, Muskogee and Bartlesville in 1897, and Red Fork in 1901, the
territory was not recognized as a great oil reserve until the opening
of the Glenpool field, four miles southeast of Sapulpa, in November, 1905. This oil boom fostered
Sapulpa's greatest period of growth.
The oil boom, the Frisco
railroad, and the addition of several brick and glass plants combined to
transform Sapulpa
from a sleepy little village into a bustling community of 20,000 by the
mid-1920s. Most of the buildings in downtown Sapulpa
were erected during this boom period.
Today, Sapulpa
prides itself on its character shaped of three historic factors –
Indians,
railroads and oil. The town has received ten statewide awards for its
efforts in preservation and architectural rehabilitation. As you
pass through this beautifully preserved community, you will also find a
number of artistic advertising displays on its many vintage buildings.
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