Historical Significance:

The Chief Sapulpa Cemetery, which the Nancy Green Chapter purchased in 1923, is the burial site of Sapulpa (c.1824-March 17, 1887), the man for whom the city of Sapulpa, OK, is named. The cemetery, 30-feet x 50-feet, includes seven members of the Sapulpa family. Sapulpa was a full-blood Lower Creek Native American and leader of the Kashita tribe of Alabama. The area's first permanent settler, Sapulpa arrived ca.1850 and established a trading post 2 miles SE of current downtown Sapulpa. A lieutenant with the Confederate Army, Sapulpa area settlers gave him the honorific of "Chief." The town of Sapulpa was incorporated on March 31, 1898. The chapter dedicated a DAR marker at the cemetery in 1924 and in 1977.   

Chief Sapulpa, Died: March 17, 1887; Eliza-Na Kitty, first wife of Sapulpa (unmarked grave); Niesi, daughter of Sapulpa, Died August 6, 187?; Rebecca, daughter of Sapulpa, Died: August 1, 1879; Lucy, daughter of Sapulpa, Died: February 16, 1900; Bessie Brunner, granddaughter of Sapulpa, Died: September 11, 1888, granddaughter of Sapulpa; Infant, Born/Died: March 29, 1905, grandson of Sapulpa; Aggie Jones, Died: March 1, 1900, orphan at Euchee Mission Boarding School, Sapulpa; Velma James, student at Euchee Mission Boarding School; Unknown child from the Euchee Mission Boarding School who died during the measles epidemic of 1900. 

 

Historical Designations:

State Historical Commission
City Landmark
Oklahoma Historical Society marker for the cemetery dedicated on August 9, 1976. 

 

Marker Details:

Date:  1924 and 1977 by the Nancy Green Chapter, NSDAR

Text:
May 7, 1924: DAR Insignia only (original marker still on site)
July 4, 1977: "OUR CITY NAMED FOR CHIEF SAPULPA EARLY LEADER IN CREEK NATION NANCY GREEN CHAPTER D.A.R."

 

Funding:

The Nancy Green Chapter has managed this property since 1923. Funding is provided through dedicated chapter finances and member donations to maintain the chapter's commitment to historic preservation for this important town, county, and state site. Recent improvements include solar lights for nighttime lighting, a new flagpole lock box, and a new Flag of the U.S.A. Also, the chapter has developed a plan for a local contractor to relevel headstones and markers at the cemetery.