wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 12.3 miles away from the Picher city center killed 15 people and injured 200 people and caused $45 million in damages. The town of Picher, Okla became an incorporated community in 1920, with a population of 9,726. The town was built around lead and zinc mining. Nearest city with pop. Picher, Oklahoma - the Town That is No More | A Boy and His Dog He is not mentally challenged due to exposure to lead. The Picher area became the most productive lead-zinc mining field in the Tri-State district, producing over $20 billion worth of ore between 1917 and 1947. Im from Coweta, OK and have only heard the city name, none of the things revealed in this article. Today, there are only about 10 hardy souls left in Picher to watch as the clean-up slowly carves away at the dozen or so remaining piles of chat and restores Tar Creek, whose waters still run red from heavy metal runoff, to some semblance of its former self. My father was born to Walter William Herd and Margaret Herd / Justice July 9th 1923 in Picher Oklahoma. Teams; News Feed; Scores; Schedules; Polls; Player Leaders; FB Rec A 2006 Army Corps of Engineers study showed 86% of Picher's buildings (including the town school) were badly undermined and subject to collapse at any time. Wow this was very interesting. Not that trespassing isnt illegal, but i would def want to go through the buildings. Closest monitor was 4.2 miles away from the city center. I mean this happened like YESTERDAY WTF??? I love ghost towns- Bodie, CA being my favorite. Website 2022 Advameg, Inc. My Dad tells me that my grandfather invented a table that was used to separate the smaller chat from the larger pieces. It definitely was creepy being there! In 2000, the population of Picher, Oklahoma was 1640. The sampling detected significant concentrations of lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals in surface soils. My father is 92. Their bodies have never been found, though suspected accomplice Ronnie Dean Busick was arrested in April 2018 for his involvement in the crimes. There arent a lot of hotels in the vicinity, so Picher is probably best for road trips. pics("Picher-Oklahoma","Picher","See promotion details and to upload your Picher, Oklahoma photos"); Picher, OK residents, houses, and apartments details, Detailed information about poverty and poor residents in Picher, OK, Races in Picher detailed stats: ancestries, foreign born residents, place of birth, Latest news from Picher, OK collected exclusively by city-data.com from local newspapers, TV, and radio stations. [7] The municipality of Picher was officially dissolved on November 26, 2013.[22]. Detailed 2008 Election Results, Political contributions by individuals in Picher, OK, 6.20% of this county's 2016 resident taxpayers lived in other counties in 2015 ($35,264 average adjusted gross income), 7.13% of this county's 2015 resident taxpayers moved to other counties in 2016 ($31,180 average adjusted gross income). Use caution when interpreting population changes that use different postcensal version estimates. He says he believes the water is safe and that he has no concerns about his health -- not one bit.. "[19], The government carried out a similar relocation program for residents of the adjacent city of Treece, Kansas. As the mines began to close, less reputable mining companies took over the hard rock mines and removed many of the underground supports. Im not even aware that the ground Im standing on is extraordinarily unstable and could collapse at any moment. There are people/families that still reside there. Picher Oklahoma 5-year bump - 247sports.com At the height of the boom, in the 1920s, it had over 14,000 resident miners and possibly another 5,000 townspeople. wind speeds 207-260 mph) tornado 12.3 miles away from the Picher city center killed 15 people and injured 200 people and caused $45 million in damages. Dec: Maui, Hawaii, Recently Completed Trips: But how the Census Bureau reported and grouped those populations changed over time. The peak population of Picher was in Would be a great site for a horror flick if it werent an EPA superfund site. I mean, even if they think the land can be healed and are working toward that find a solution for your residents first. facts("Picher-Oklahoma","Picher","Add new facts and correct factual errors about Picher, Oklahoma"); City-data.com does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any information on this site. Picher, OK City Data | Population, Maps, Homes, Statistics - MovingIdeas its fallen to the 8,450th largest city in While passing through town, it was odd to see the Picher Youth Soccer sign and realize that just a few years back, kids were playing games on this field a field that is one of the most unstable parts of the entire town, according to that Army Corps study. [10], On May 10, 2008, Picher was struck by an EF4 tornado. It sure seemed like there were a lot of homes left for the population to be 20. This happened in the 1930s-1940s. There are many abandoned subsurface natural and manmade caves, mines, etc. They knew to avoid Tar Creek after the waters started running red in the late 1970s the result of pollution from heavy metals like lead, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, iron and manganese but folks were slow to realize the extent to which the chat piles were slowly poisoning them. On 4/3/1956, a category F4 tornado 16.6 miles away from the city center injured 59 people and caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in damages. I look forward to seeing and hearing about those future ghost towns. He vowed to stay as long as there was anyone left who needed him and to be the last one out of the city. Families picnicked on them, 4-wheelers rode their bikes up and down them, while the local high school track team trained on them. The closest hotel in a nearby small towns is the Baxter Inn in Baxter Springs, KS (7 miles away.) Ancestries: American (57.1%), German (19.0%). Total area in square miles - Ottawa County, Water area in square miles - Ottawa County, Male householder, no wife present, family, Female householder, no husband present, family, Households with one or more people under 18 years, Households with one or more people 65 years and over, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, People who are Black or African American alone, People who are American Indian and Alaska Native alone, People who are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, Public transportation (excluding taxicab), Management, professional, and related occupations, Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations, Construction, extraction, maintenance and repair occupations, Production, transportation, and material moving occupations, Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining, Transportation and warehousing, and utilities, Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing, Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative, Educational services, and health care and social assistance, Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services, Other services, except public administration, Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business. The city was incorporated in 1918, and by 1920, Picher had a population of 9,726. My fathers father, my grandfather, owned a mining repair company in Commerce. The federal and state governments were slow to appreciate the hazard as well. So, in the end, if Picher had big troubles, then why not those areas also? Picher, which in its heyday in the 1920s boasted a population of nearly 20,000 people, no longer exists as a town. Median real estate property taxes paid for housing units with no mortgage in 2019: $276 (0.3%). Today, its zero. Population estimates by race/ethnicity are 79.8% white, 5.8% black, 2.7% American Indian, 4.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.5% other race and 5% two or more How Much Is Undeveloped Land Worth In Oklahoma? Required fields are marked *. than it was in 1990. More than fifty percent of the lead and zinc used during World War I was extracted from the Picher district. [18] As of November 2010, it was reported that Picher still had "one business and six occupied houses. My Great Grandfather Aaron Stankewitz worked in the mines and developed TB in later years and died in Sebastian County in Fort Smith, AR. What? Even if a handful of people remain (no more than six households, according to your own estimate), that does not substantively change the story. Ozone [ppb] level in 2018 was 27.5. That time is still some way off, according to Bob Sullivan, the Environmental Protection Agency site manager for the cleanup. One of the last vacant buildings, which had housed the former Picher mining museum, was destroyed by arson in April 2015. Mount Rainier National Park If theres anything you believe is inaccurate, feel free to point it out. The ZIP code for this address is 74360 and the postal code suffix is 1315. Picher is 8 miles (13km) north of Miami, the county seat. When we drove back home, we slowly drove through to take a closer look. It struck Picher, causing extensive damage to 20 blocks of the city, with houses and businesses destroyed or flattened. The less than 1 and 1 to 4 groups for the 1990 and 2000 censuses were combined to create a consistent 0 to 4 group across all available data. Over the years, its population has grown steadily to the point where it is edging toward a landmark of 4 million residents in the present day. My mother told me that when I visited their house, never to accept food from them even if they offered, because they were very poor, and they didnt have enough for themselves. the school was still there but couldnt go down the road to it. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.20. Through the 90's Picher's population has declined by about 4%. This is about average. An Army Corps of Engineers study in 2006 showed that almost nine out of 10 buildings in town were susceptible to sudden collapse. I cant believe Ive never heard of this town. 58,047). Nearest city with pop. And perhaps to keep away addicts. Once more, you give us another place to visit! Its not really a ghost town. After being labeled one of the most polluted places in America by the EPA,. Thanks Courtenay. Google Lava tubes hawaii missing persons. Among those still living and working in the town is 59-year-old Gary Linderman, who has owned and operated the Ole Miner Pharmacy on U.S. Highway 69 for 16 years. Well, Im very person-oriented and Picher, the people here are a very close-knit family, as I call it, said Linderman. My grandfather worked in the mines until he had to sell out. I drive an end dump semi tractor trailer and am there guite often because of the two major quarries there Several types of chat rock and sand are hauled out of there by the thousands of tons everyday for the concrete and asphalt industry all over the country However none of it is allowed to be used in drive ways or anywhere where there would be direct contact . The concept of the toxic waste dump that is declared in this article is depressing. Population density: 9.0 people per square mile (very low). The film was written, directed, and narrated by Matt Myers.[31]. Closest monitor was 0.4 miles away from the city center. A modern Neighborhood Watch sign stands hopelessly next to an abandoned, broken-down dwelling, while a Drug-Free America post survives next to the drug store. Viasat Inc offers the . Glad you found me on Twitter! 9+ Weird Picher Oklahoma Facts to Give OMG Moments and ethnicity are the Vintage 2020 Population Estimates (census.gov) for 2010 to 2019 and the Vintage 2021 Population Estimates (census.gov) for 2020 and 2021. The GPS urges me to continue going straight ahead, but Im unable to oblige, thanks to a wire fence blocking the road and a daunting sign reading, U.S. On September 1, 2009, the state of Oklahoma officially dis-incorporated the city of Picher, which ceased official operations on that day. What's it Like to Visit a Toxic Ghost Town? You must have visited there in the winter because the trees and foliage are very green and thriving just like anywhere else. Thanks for the pix. Good question, Russ. The Oklahoma Town That Turned Into An Abandoned, Toxic Sinkhole In the city the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. Toggle navigation. [14], In April 2009, residents voted 556 to dissolve the Picher-Cardin school district; it graduated its final class of 11 in May. Forum; Cities Meanwhile, another mining-related problem continued wreaking havoc in Picher. My mother was born in Picher in 1929 they moved to CA around 1930. There were 708 housing units at an average density of 316.9 per square mile (122.6/km2). some of which are subject to subsidence or even just exist as holes in the ground. So he continues to commute from his ranch near the small town of Welch, Okla., occasionally staying in the apartment he keeps at the back of the pharmacy. Picher Oklahoma Picher Oklahoma is a sad story. Follow along and find your next quirky adventure! There has reportedly been at least one Picher documentary, possibly on Netflix, but Im currently unable to find it. On September 17, 2019, the EPA, in cooperation with the state of Oklahoma and the Quapaw Nation, released the Final Tar Creek Strategic Plan to advance the cleanup of the Tar Creek Superfund site. Before the ground at this spot collapsed into the cavern below, leaving a 250-foot wide hole, there were three mine shafts visible at the surface, each with a five-by-seven-foot opening. He first came to Picher in 1975, when he went to work as a student extern for the previous owners of the pharmacy. Agency site manager for the previous owners of the underground supports other heavy metals in soils. 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