Store in Sulphur was built by Lawton resident’s grandfather

EDITOR’S NOTE: Lawton resident Don Sullivan shared the following story with us about an historic structure in Sulphur, which was damaged by a recent tornado.

As background, my grandmother and grandfather were married in Sulphur in 1898. It was a full-day carriage ride or a 2-hour train ride from Ardmore where they courted. That may be one of the first instances of a “destination wedding” that I am aware of since Sulphur was in its heyday and considered one of the best resorts in the pre-statehood Indian Territory.

My grandfather, J. B. White, was a “read on” architect who designed and built buildings in southern Oklahoma for several decades (1900- till his death in 1949). He was a member of the first State Board of Architects after Oklahoma became a state. Some of his more notable buildings include the Hardy Murphy Colosseum in Ardmore, the Ardmore Civic Auditorium, The Ardmoreite Building, the original Ardmore High School, and several schools in several communities, including Duncan, Durant, Hugo and others. He died in 1949.

In 1906, architect J. B. White, my grandfather, designed and built a large building at 218 West Muskogee in Sulphur to house a successful hardware company. In recent years, the building was repurposed and, through the vision and hard work of the three women who own it, became a very up-scale and fun winery boutique.

For those who frequent the Artesian Hotel and Casino in Sulphur, the Rusty Nail was a short walk down the street and always seemed to have something going on paired with a great wine selection. The Rusty Nail Winery was named such by the entrepreneurs due to a can of rusty nails being left in the building from the hardware store days. The owners of the winery decided that rusty nails did not pair well with any known wine but liked the thought and kept the name.

That building stood until Saturday evening when a tornado destroyed it and most other buildings along the block that was the heart of “Old Sulphur”. The building was on the Oklahoma’s National Registry of Historical Places.

Because there was no “corner stone” for this building when it was built, Mr. White commissioned an extended metal threshold plate that one crossed when entering the building. That metal threshold commemorated the company that built the building and the architect who designed and constructed the building — much as a cornerstone would do. That threshold plate was preserved when the renovation to the Rusty Nail took place and so, for almost 118 years, every person who visited the building was exposed to name of this pioneer architect in Oklahoma and the Territories that preceded it.

I don’t know if the building can or will be rebuilt. If not, I hope to salvage all or part of the metal threshold as a family heirloom.