“Why should we look to the past in order to prepare for the future? Because there is nowhere else to look.” -- James Burke, British writer
While Sulphur was planned as a town as early as 1890, the first two attempts to build a commercial district proved environmentally impractical.
By the early 1900s, the town had to relocate somewhere outside of what had become Platt National Park. What is now the park’s historic district had become federal acreage around the springs.
In 1904, the town moved to its present location north of the nation’s fourth national park.
The municipality split into two areas separated by Rock Creek. The east side chose to build a downtown located on “a hill north of the park.”
The Arbuckle Historical Society has supplied a chronological history of Sulphur that includes references to what was trying hard to become the City of Sulphur. This story is based on the AHS history documents and stories published in this community newspaper.
The town finally incorporated in 1906, when it was rapidly becoming a “tourist mecca with 50 buildings and 4,000 residents.” The first Artesian Hotel is built (as the “Windsor”).
Many of the structures destroyed in the 2024 April tornado date back 120 years to this dynamic period of downtown history.
Sulphur’s first major civic disaster was a tornado that tore through the west side of town on March 13, 1922. The devastation reported at the time “destroyed 60 buildings, including the county courthouse, killed two people, and injured 20.”
Renaissance
The entire community, including the eastside downtown began to dynamically grow until the 1970s when competition, demographic and social changes signaled a period of uncertain growth downtown.
As the glory days faded, there were several periods when the downtown interests sought to revitalize the area and its businesses. But decay gradually began to occur in a few of the old historic buildings, with some going out of business.
When the 2000s began, interest in “restoring” the historic downtown increased.
The Sulphur Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs conducted fund raisers and provided volunteers to help with various improvement projects. Sulphur Main Street began to implement programs and events.
Tourism became even more important for the economic future of downtown. In late 2006, the Genesis of increased attention on reinventing the downtown began producing results. A planning meeting was held with representatives from the city, county, Main Street and the chamber of commerce to focus on the Plaza, which had been created a few years earlier.
The Plaza needed a performance stage for active coordination of events downtown. Committees were formed to raise funds and to design a stage that fits the budget.
In November, 2006, this newspaper published a story about a $10,000 matching grant from the Oklahoma legislature that was secured for building the stage. The project aimed at completion by 2007, the Centennial of Oklahoma Statehood.
2012 -- Latest Renaissance Begins The City of Sulphur responded to new opportunities for expanded tourism in the county and region. The Chickasaw Nation was dynamically moving forward with major improvements and “destinations” in this area.
The Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur opened a few years earlier. The Nation announced plans to resurrect the Artesian Hotel soon and build a Visitors Center.
Encouraged by these developments, the city assembled an Historic Preservation Commission with five local members. In October, 2012, this newspaper reported on the first meeting of the new commission.
Indicative of possible future progress, the commission at the first meeting approved four compliance requests for store signs, including one for the new Mix Mercantile shop.
Initial preservation activities, the commission agreed, would “focus on the downtown block beginning at Diacon Hardware and going west one block” on MuskogeeAve. This area includes the Plaza.
The Sulphur City Manager at the time, Bill Holley, described this time as “Sulphur’s Historic Renaissance.”
As 2012 ended, a special city council meeting was held Dec. 20, to announce “plans to revitalize historic downtown Sulphur.”
A presentation by an architectural firm explained a highly visionary 20-year plan to improve downtown to attract more people, including tourists.
As 2013 began, it became clear that this new plan was not a “renovation plan for downtown.” It aimed mostly at making downtown more “unique, appealing and accessible for visitors.”
In March the city implemented a two-hour parking limit downtown. This proved to be an unpopular and short-lived solution to “parking problems” in the historic district.
In the spring, a new business was planned for a long-time favorite historic location -- the old Seeton’s Drug Store at W. Second St. and Muskogee. Famous for its fountain limeades, Sulphurites remember this as a community meeting place.
It reopened as Raina’s Sports Lounge after a major refurbishing effort.
By August, 2013 the “Renaissance of Sulphur” had taken off big-time with the opening of the new Artesian Hotel, Casino and Spa.
A headline announced: “25 Years In The Making, Artesian Hotel Is Part Of The Rebuilding of Downtown.”
In a story, Gov. Anoatubby explained the Chickasaw Nation’s vision for working with the Sulphur community to improve tourism “with quaint little shops that might reflect a nostalgic theme of some kind.”
He concluded that what was needed was “vision, enthusiasm and some investment.”
Preservation commission continued working until July, 2014 when the city “disbanded” the commission. Council members cited a need to “rethink the approach to preservation and start at the beginning.” Also, it was felt the community needed a commission that better represented downtown interests.
April 27, 2024
Last year’s tornado disaster gives Sulphur a chance unlike any it has seen in its downtown history. We now can build a downtown literally from the ground up for the first time that meets our current community needs and desires.
Sulphur could not do that even back in 1904 when it moved buildings from one downtown site to another before creating new enterprises.
Sulphur now can come together to create opportunities in building a new downtown based in history, but aware of today’s commercial realities and changing visitors’ tastes and nostalgic preferences.
The newly constituted Historical Preservation Commission can put new energy and innovative ideas into this seminal effort downtown.
Call it what you will -- Renaissance, Rebirth, or Revival. It is fueled by the spirit of a Sulphur Strong community that is committed to success and survival.
