The shop is a treasure mine of gadgets and supplies from the early 2000s. Dell and Gateway boxes are pressed up against the window, turning yellow in the sunlight. It’s like a time capsule from the personal computer sector in the early 2000s.

Decades of unrestrained underground mining endangered the majority of Picher’s town structures and left massive amounts of toxic metal-contaminated mine tailings piled around the area.ģ5.2277, -97.45368 Photo Credit: Joshua Trammell – Picher, a former city in Ottawa County, is now a ghost town. The population fell from 1,640 at the time of the 2000 census to 20 at the time of the 2010 census. The city of Picher was formally dis-incorporated by the state of Oklahoma on September 1, 2009, and its official functions stopped on that day.

The city had 1,640 people, 621 households, and 417 families left according to the 2000 census. Peak population was 14,252 in 1926, followed by a slow fall owing to a reduction in mining activities, leaving Picher with just 2,553 persons in 1960. Picher came into being in 1918, and by 1920, it had a population of 9,726 people. Picher, the proprietor of Picher Lead Company, sprung up overnight around the new workings. The windows are boarded and the structure is sealed but the grass around the church is still mowed by a caretaker.Īs the Tri-State district grew, lead and zinc ore was found on Harry Crawfish’s claim in 1913, and mining commenced. When the town experienced a modest economic boom in 1920, grocery stores, cafes, music parlors, blacksmith shops, and businesses were established.

Much of the downtown was destroyed in a fire in 1908. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad passed through town in 1902. The Meridian Right-of-way and Townsite Company laid out the townsite in 1902, and numerous residences were built quickly. Meridian takes its name from the Indian Meridian that runs through it. Meridian Community Churchģ5.84444, -97.24814 Photo Credit: TheHypnoticHippo Check It Out Abandoned Places In Oklahoma 1.

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