SAPULPA, Okla. — Over the last century, a Sapulpa family has passed down a building that is a beacon of history, sitting right on The Mother Road.
Four generations of Young family members have taken over the brick building on the corner of Main and Dewey.
2 News first found out about the family's history when working on filming a story on the Sapulpa Christmas Chute.
The building is on the corner, just off the chute's path, but it stands proudly behind the large Christmas tree.
"My family has been on business in this street corner for 100 years, and this makes it 101, starting a whole new era," said Wendy Cornelius, the co-owner of the downstairs shop and member of the family.
She took over the building after her father. She said he stuck it out past the century mark before retiring from his law practice.
Cornelius is the fourth generation in her family to take up business in the historic building.
"My sister, brothers and I, we have our own relationship with this building because our dad was here when we were growing up, and we all remember this being the law office. And I remember my great-grandfather practicing law up there and my grandfather and my dad and I remember that," Cornelius said.
The building is taking a new shape with Cornelius. She's giving it a new life after spending most of the century in law offices.
She and her business partner Amie Taber opened Magpie and Mulberry Market, a vintage shop with an extensive collection of items.
They're also working on a community space in the upstairs building. Cornelius' brother led the renovations while keeping many of the historical pieces inside.
The upstairs office is like a time capsule. It has toys, books, and even words of wisdom scratched on the wall.
"I have those memories and now my kids remember my dad being here. And they'll remember the store and renovations and they have a whole set of memories that are completely different and independent of mine that they're going to be able to tell their kids," said Cornelius.
The building started as a bank with it being built sometime around 1904. But it wasn't until a fire in a nearby building forced Cornelius' great-grandfather to move into the corner brick building.
Cornelius said she has a lot of memories from her childhood, such as taking naps in the old bank safe.
Her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather are honored that the building has been passed down to her, allowing her to pursue her entrepreneurship aspirations, especially alongside her business partner.
"I would be nothing in this without Amie and you know she needs me and I need her and together we built this friendship," Cornelius said.
When 2 News was filming, three of her five kids came in. That's when the conversations about the future of the building started.
Her 16-year-old son understood the gift that holds his family's history.
"I think it's important to let the tradition continue to thrive because if you lose this tradition then it's something that will be lost then you can never really get a foothold back to this area of heritage," he said.
She said she doesn't know which of her five kids will take over the building when she's ready to pass it down. She said she can't wait to see her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren share the space she shared with her grandparents.
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