Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Early history

The town was named after the area's first permanent settler, a full-blood Lower Creek Indian named Sapulpa, of the Kasihta Tribe, from Osocheetown, Alabama. About 1850, he established a trading post near the meeting of Polecat and Rock creeks (about one mile (1.6 km) southeast of present-day downtown Sapulpa). When the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (later known as the Frisco Railroad) built a spur to this area in 1886, it was known as Sapulpa Station. The Sapulpa post office was chartered July 1, 1889. The town was incorporated March 31, 1898.

Controversy over Creek County Seat location

After Oklahoma became a state, each county held an election to determine the location of the county seat. Sapulpa competed with Bristow for county seat of Creek County. After five years of contested elections and court suits, the question was settled by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on August 1, 1913. Sapulpa was ruled the winner. The county courthouse was completed in 1914, replacing an earlier structure built in 1902.

Economic development

The area around Sapulpa mainly produced walnuts when the town was founded. In 1898, the Sapulpa Pressed Brick was established, followed in a few years by the Sapulpa Brick Company. This began the clay products industry. The Frisco built a railyard in Sapulpa and by 1900 designated Sapulpa as the location of an overhaul base for its rolling stock. The founding of Premium Glass Company in 1912 marked Sapulpa's entry to glass manufacturing. Premium Glass was absorbed into Liberty Glass Company in 1918. Other glass producers in the city were Bartlett-Collins Glass Company, Schram Glass Company, and Sunflower Glass Company. According to the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History, Sapulpa became known as "The Crystal City of the Southwest". Sapulpa is also the home of Frankoma Pottery.

Geography

Sapulpa is located in the northeast corner of Creek County at 36°0′13″N 96°6′17″W (36.003536, -96.104822). A small portion of the city extends north into Tulsa County. Downtown Tulsa is 14 miles (23 km) to the northeast via Interstate 44. The Creek Turnpike (State Highway 364) branches east from I-44 in northeastern Sapulpa and provides a southern and eastern bypass of Tulsa.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Sapulpa has a total area of 25.1 square miles (65.1 km²), of which 24.3 square miles (63.0 km²) is land and 0.81 square miles (2.1 km²), or 3.21%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 20,544 people, 8,015 households, and 5,497 families residing in the city. The population density was 844.3 people per square mile. There were 8,903 housing units at an average density of 435.4 per square mile (168.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.5% White, 3.0% African American, 10.9% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from other races, and 6.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population.

There were 7,430 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,372 and the median income for a family was $52,639. Males had a median income of $30,524 versus $21,609 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,275. About 11.5% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

Culture and education

In 2013, the Sapulpa Creek Community Center graduated a class of 14 from its Muscogee Creek language class.

Newspaper controversy

The Sapulpa Daily Herald gained national media attention in early November 2008 for not reporting the election of Barack Obama as president, reporting only that John McCain had won among the voters of Creek County. Critics charged that the omission related to racism, as Obama's victory as the first African American elected president was an historic event. The newspaper maintains that it only covers local news events. The newspaper had covered every single presidential victory prior to the Obama victory.

Notable people