You only think you know Sapulpa.
Every week we publish stories of Sapulpa's history, recalling both the events at the time, and the nostalgia for days gone by. Dig in and learn more about what the Sapulpa of yesteryear was like.
Proudly brought to you by the Sapulpa Historical Society Museum
This Week in Sapulpa History: Historic Landmark Preserved
Learn more about where Sapulpa is buried, and who the family members are buried with him, and how the Daughters of the American Revolution helped secure the location for preservation.
January 27, 2024 This Week in Sapulpa History: Sapulpa’s Grand St. James
Billed as "modern and first-class in every details," the St. James Hotel stood for well over 50 years before demolished in the 1960s. Read about how it got built in "This Week in Sapulpa History."
January 10, 2024 This Week in Sapulpa History: Early Days of Sapulpa Schools
This week in Sapulpa History, a new school board met and found that a single teacher had 104 students, necessitating the need for new schools and more teachers. Read the about how some of our earliest school buildings came to be.
January 5, 2024 This Week in Sapulpa History – Major Meyer and Mize Fire
This week in Sapulpa history, read the story about the mysterious blaze that took out the Wills Building and severely damaged the Mize Drugstore and the famous Max Meyer Outfitters store.
December 29, 2023 This Week in Sapulpa History: Community Christmas
The story of how Sapulpa got its community Christmas Tree, which stood for 75 years until the ice storm of 2007.
December 25, 2023 This Week in Sapulpa History: Sapulpa’s hand-made glass
The relocation of Sunflower Glass Co. to Sapulpa would give the town four glass companies, each with their own purpose. Sunflower was known for its hand-blown glass. But could it last?
December 10, 2023
Do You Remember The Wills Building?
The building that now houses the Sapulpa Historical Society Museum has been important to Sapulpa since the very beginning.
Do You Remember Gene Autry?
One of the most prolific country and western singers of all time got his start right here in Sapulpa!
Do You Remember CB Radios?
Before cell phones and the internet, the CB radio was sweeping the nation as the latest “fad.”
Do you remember cruising?
Read about the favorite pastime for a lot of people who grew up in Sapulpa, which included not only drag races for pink slips, but sports like "bushwacking."
Do You Remember…High School?
High school was a place where I was no longer a "little kid," but that didn't mean that there weren't hijinks from time to time.
Do You Remember…Blue Laws?
Blue Laws, like the one that's up for a vote on Tuesday, have largely been repealed, but a handful of them still exist.
Do You Remember … Your Parents’ Curfew?
Those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s lived under strict rules of behavior. One of those rules was our curfew.
Do You Remember April Fools’ Day?
Is there still a place for April Fools' Day, in today's world of 24/7 satire?
Do You Remember S&H Green Stamps?
Before Reasor's Rewards or Warehouse Market's blue Magic Coins, there was S&H Green Stamps.
Do You Remember…George Brite?
During George Brite's thirty-four-year tenure at SPS, many of his students went on to become accomplished and widely-acclaimed musicians, conductors, and high school band directors.
Do You Remember The Fourth of Julys of Your Childhood?
When I was growing up, the Fourth of July meant many things. There were picnics with homemade ice cream, potato salad, watermelon, and BBQ. Flags were flown on just about every front porch. Concerts with stirring patriotic music were held in the courthouse gazebo. But the most enjoyable part of the Fourth of July involved…
Do You Remember … The Civil Rights Movement?
For nearly a century after emancipation, black people couldn’t eat at the same restaurants, use the same toilet facilities, stay at the same hotels, go to the same schools as whites, or live in certain places. And then a black woman refused to give up her bus seat and sparked the Civil Rights Movement.