When I initially drove through Picher, I thought the local employer was a massive gravel pit. Towering piles of gravel were clearly visible on both sides of the highway. The town itself had an incredibly eerie feel. Empty houses missing doors, windows, signs of life. Not really run down or unsound, but average middle class brick 'starter'-size. Just south of these houses was an area of overgrowth. No buildings there, but streets leading to nowhere in particular, just to more empty streets. The trees in the area even look strange. A bit farther south was where I started getting a bigger picture. There was heavy equipment and concrete forms consistent with mining operations. At this point, I consulted Google, then Wikipedia and other sites, for more information. In a nutshell, the area was heavily mined for lead and zinc. Soil and water contamination was wide spread. The gravel piles are actually contaminated mine tailings. To further complicate the situation, much of town was undermined. This literally means that mining had removed enough subterranian structure that the town was at risk of caving in. The EPA came in and provided funding to the residents for their relocation. Evacuation was mandatory and the area was declared uninhabitable. The massive contamination also claimed the nearby towns of Cardin and Treece. The explanation for the areas with no houses whatsoever would have been the 2008 mile-wide F-4 twister that took out 20 city blocks. This town that boasted 14,000+ inhabitants had plumeted to 20 by 2010. Today, I am not sure there was a single person left. Anyone want to buy a Superfund site??
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