Picher, Oklahoma. Once a thriving city of nearly 10,000 residents is now one of the most avoided areas in all of the state. A city that once had thousands of buildings has been reduced to a ghost town, most of the buildings torn down by the government after they evacuated and closed the place for good. Its legacy lives on in local legend, though it has doubtlessly earned a reputation as the creepiest abandoned town in Oklahoma.
YouTube/TyneRoseMedia’s channel Picher exploded practically overnight in 1913 after major deposits of lead and ore were discovered here. By the time the city was incorporated five years later, there were nearly 10,000 residents.
YouTube/TyneRoseMedia’s channel In a recent interview, one former resident claimed the Main Street in town was “akin to Las Vegas … all lit up and the like.” But now much has changed in Picher.
Flickr/Mark Cameron
Flickr/MRHSfan As a result of years of mining and dumping mountains of tailings, called “chats,” on top of the ground, Picher is deemed one of the most contaminated places in the country.
YouTube/Every Point on the Map Mounds of “chat” are found all over the area and were once used as casual playgrounds for the children in the town. But the huge dust piles are nothing more than toxic waste loaded with lead.
Flickr/MRHSfan
Flickr/Tyson Luneau
Flickr/MRHSfan As if lead-contaminated dust particles floating in the air are not enough to keep people away from Picher, this abandoned town in Oklahoma has two more huge deterrents that keep people away.
Flickr/Tyson Luneau
Flickr/Tyson Luneau The first involves the structural integrity of the ground beneath Picher. In 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study and found that 86% of the city’s buildings were resting on ground that was about to collapse.
Flickr/Tyson Luneau At any given moment the very ground beneath the residents could give way, creating a huge sinkhole and taking everything in its path down with it. But that wasn’t enough for the government to take immediate action.
Google Maps [streetview May 2014] The third item keeping people out of Picher? A contaminated water supply loaded with toxic levels of dangerous contaminants.
Google Maps [streetview June 2014] In 2009, three long years after the discovery of the unstable ground below the city, the EPA and the state of Oklahoma agreed to just buy out the entire place and move everyone out of town. They created an “exclusion zone,” prohibiting entry into parts of the town by putting up concrete blockades around the perimeter.
Google Maps [streetview June 2014]
Google Maps [streetview June 2014] Even the town’s houses of worship have been left to decay in the toxic rubble. It’s hard to believe Picher’s lead mining industry once produced more than half of the bullets used in two world wars, yet this is the thanks she got.
Google Maps [streetview June 2014]
Google Maps [streetview June 2014] The few wooden houses that remain are rotting and being reclaimed by mother nature while others are made of material that will be around for decades to come.
YouTube/Every Point on the Map One thing is for sure — even though residents were evacuated and forced to leave the place that served as home for generations of their families, no one is in a hurry to go back to this abandoned town in Oklahoma.
The contaminants in the air, the water, and the earth, in addition to the grave dangers of cave-ins, are enough to keep people out of Picher, Oklahoma. It’s easy to see why this is the one abandoned town in Oklahoma that most people stay far, far away from.
YouTube/TyneRoseMedia’s channel
Picher exploded practically overnight in 1913 after major deposits of lead and ore were discovered here. By the time the city was incorporated five years later, there were nearly 10,000 residents.
In a recent interview, one former resident claimed the Main Street in town was “akin to Las Vegas … all lit up and the like.” But now much has changed in Picher.
Flickr/Mark Cameron
Flickr/MRHSfan
As a result of years of mining and dumping mountains of tailings, called “chats,” on top of the ground, Picher is deemed one of the most contaminated places in the country.
YouTube/Every Point on the Map
Mounds of “chat” are found all over the area and were once used as casual playgrounds for the children in the town. But the huge dust piles are nothing more than toxic waste loaded with lead.
Flickr/Tyson Luneau
As if lead-contaminated dust particles floating in the air are not enough to keep people away from Picher, this abandoned town in Oklahoma has two more huge deterrents that keep people away.
The first involves the structural integrity of the ground beneath Picher. In 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study and found that 86% of the city’s buildings were resting on ground that was about to collapse.
At any given moment the very ground beneath the residents could give way, creating a huge sinkhole and taking everything in its path down with it. But that wasn’t enough for the government to take immediate action.
Google Maps [streetview May 2014]
The third item keeping people out of Picher? A contaminated water supply loaded with toxic levels of dangerous contaminants.
Google Maps [streetview June 2014]
In 2009, three long years after the discovery of the unstable ground below the city, the EPA and the state of Oklahoma agreed to just buy out the entire place and move everyone out of town. They created an “exclusion zone,” prohibiting entry into parts of the town by putting up concrete blockades around the perimeter.
Even the town’s houses of worship have been left to decay in the toxic rubble. It’s hard to believe Picher’s lead mining industry once produced more than half of the bullets used in two world wars, yet this is the thanks she got.
The few wooden houses that remain are rotting and being reclaimed by mother nature while others are made of material that will be around for decades to come.
One thing is for sure — even though residents were evacuated and forced to leave the place that served as home for generations of their families, no one is in a hurry to go back to this abandoned town in Oklahoma.
For a closer look at Pincher, check out the above YouTube videos in full:
Do you know anyone who used to live in Picher? We’d love to hear about their memories and thoughts in our comments!
This town most definitely haunts the memories of its former residents. If you crave a taste of everything spooky, visit some of the most haunted places in Oklahoma on this road trip.
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Address: Picher, OK 74360, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
Picher, Oklahoma September 22, 2019 Nikki Rhoades What other abandoned places are there in Oklahoma? Welcome to The Sooner State. This nickname reflects the ambitions of early area settlers, a group that famously began claiming land before the western Oklahoma Territory was open for settlement. While so many were eager to settle our state, one can find many abandoned places in Oklahoma today. Skedee is a community full of abandoned buildings – today it has a mere 50 residents dotting its landscape. If 50 seems a bit too crowded, maybe you’ll want to explore this community of 25 residents – you’ll see more abandoned structures than human life during your visit. Are there any hiking trails to abandoned places in Oklahoma? Oklahoma is a beautiful place to embark on a hike, especially if you have an insatiable desire for adventure. You can actually hike along abandoned railroad tracks here in the state, and you can even hike to an abandoned mansion. If these adventures to the abandoned don’t quite quench your longing for history, perhaps a trip to a forgotten 1800s battlefield will do the trick. Whether you crave the mundane or the incredible, you’ll find a stunning Oklahoma hike that will meet your needs. What ghost towns can you find in Oklahoma? Fortunately for lovers of local legend and forgotten culture, there are a number of incredible ghost towns in Oklahoma. Some communities, like Lovell, were abandoned fairly recently. Others, like Frisco, were abandoned so long ago that very few remember that the town ever even existed. Adventurous individuals will find there Oklahoma boasts a number of ghost towns, each of which has its own unique tale to tell. We even have a ghost town that famously continued to thrive! The Sooner State is a region full of surprises.
The OIYS Visitor Center
Picher, Oklahoma
September 22, 2019
Nikki Rhoades
What other abandoned places are there in Oklahoma? Welcome to The Sooner State. This nickname reflects the ambitions of early area settlers, a group that famously began claiming land before the western Oklahoma Territory was open for settlement. While so many were eager to settle our state, one can find many abandoned places in Oklahoma today. Skedee is a community full of abandoned buildings – today it has a mere 50 residents dotting its landscape. If 50 seems a bit too crowded, maybe you’ll want to explore this community of 25 residents – you’ll see more abandoned structures than human life during your visit. Are there any hiking trails to abandoned places in Oklahoma? Oklahoma is a beautiful place to embark on a hike, especially if you have an insatiable desire for adventure. You can actually hike along abandoned railroad tracks here in the state, and you can even hike to an abandoned mansion. If these adventures to the abandoned don’t quite quench your longing for history, perhaps a trip to a forgotten 1800s battlefield will do the trick. Whether you crave the mundane or the incredible, you’ll find a stunning Oklahoma hike that will meet your needs. What ghost towns can you find in Oklahoma? Fortunately for lovers of local legend and forgotten culture, there are a number of incredible ghost towns in Oklahoma. Some communities, like Lovell, were abandoned fairly recently. Others, like Frisco, were abandoned so long ago that very few remember that the town ever even existed. Adventurous individuals will find there Oklahoma boasts a number of ghost towns, each of which has its own unique tale to tell. We even have a ghost town that famously continued to thrive! The Sooner State is a region full of surprises.
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Welcome to The Sooner State. This nickname reflects the ambitions of early area settlers, a group that famously began claiming land before the western Oklahoma Territory was open for settlement. While so many were eager to settle our state, one can find many abandoned places in Oklahoma today. Skedee is a community full of abandoned buildings – today it has a mere 50 residents dotting its landscape. If 50 seems a bit too crowded, maybe you’ll want to explore this community of 25 residents – you’ll see more abandoned structures than human life during your visit.
Are there any hiking trails to abandoned places in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma is a beautiful place to embark on a hike, especially if you have an insatiable desire for adventure. You can actually hike along abandoned railroad tracks here in the state, and you can even hike to an abandoned mansion. If these adventures to the abandoned don’t quite quench your longing for history, perhaps a trip to a forgotten 1800s battlefield will do the trick. Whether you crave the mundane or the incredible, you’ll find a stunning Oklahoma hike that will meet your needs.
What ghost towns can you find in Oklahoma?
Fortunately for lovers of local legend and forgotten culture, there are a number of incredible ghost towns in Oklahoma. Some communities, like Lovell, were abandoned fairly recently. Others, like Frisco, were abandoned so long ago that very few remember that the town ever even existed. Adventurous individuals will find there Oklahoma boasts a number of ghost towns, each of which has its own unique tale to tell. We even have a ghost town that famously continued to thrive! The Sooner State is a region full of surprises.
