The Abandoned Town Of Picher, Oklahoma Is Called The Most Toxic City In America
By Tori Jane|Published October 02, 2023
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
There is absolutely no shortage of fascinating abandoned places in Oklahoma. There are lots of amazing buildings, including schools and homes and gas stations, but there are plenty of entire towns that are abandoned in the Sooner State as well. These ghost towns all exist for some reason or another, like the bizarre and spooky little place known as Picher. Picher is one abandoned place in Oklahoma that’s great to read about but not to experience – the town is, quite literally, very toxic.
In 1913, zinc and lead were discovered in the land of what would become Picher. By 1920, the town was a booming mining town, and in 1926, its population peaked at about 15,252. After that, though, the town’s population began to decline – and soon enough, residents would have no reason to remain.
Highlighting the beautifully eerie work of Cleveland-based photographer Johnny Joo, discover more fascinating abandoned locations across America in our Vacant Series. These unique man-made structures have been left abandoned and are slowly being reclaimed by nature.
Editor’s Note: Due to the nature of abandoned destinations, many of the places featured in this series are off-limits to visitors or have actually been demolished. We do not condone trespassing and other illegal activity but rather encourage readers to enjoy learning about these fascinating destinations.
Come 1960, the population had fallen to just over 2,500.
Picher had produced more than $20 billion in ore during its heyday, but now, things were struggling. In 1967, mining ceased for good... but the real nightmare was just about to begin.
Thanks to decades of improper waste processes, storage, flushing, and more, large piles of toxic waste, known as chat, piled up around the mines and on the edges of town.
Winds blew chat around, making even the air residents had no choice but to breathe unsafe. This was one of many serious problems, and efforts were made to fix things. In the 1980s, after more than 20 years of trying to reverse the poisonous damage, it was realized by the EPA that the contamination was simply too much to remedy. The town would need to be evacuated.
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Things were so much worse than anyone – even the experts – had anticipated.
By 1996, it had been realized that 34 percent of the kids in Picher were suffering from lead poisoning. Issues like learning disabilities had cropped up, adult residents also fell very ill, and the EPA made a deal with the state of Oklahoma to get everyone out for good.
The majority of residents accepted buyouts and left to start anew, though some stragglers remained, stubbornly unwilling to relocate. After all, this was home. It always had been, and nobody was going to tell them otherwise.
In 2006, the Army Corps of Engineers determined that 86 percent of the developed land in Picher was facing imminent danger of collapse. The remaining residents were at risk of the ground literally caving in beneath them, plunging them and their homes into the toxin-riddled earth.
In 2008, nature decided to speed up the process of Picher's demise without any say in the matter by residents.
A violent EF4 tornado ripped directly through town, killing eight, reducing more than 150 buildings to rubble, and forcing more than half of the final denizens to finally go. May is typically tornado season in Oklahoma, and the tornado's melee ensured that Picher, as a whole, was a goner.
During the 2010 census, just 20 people remained in Picher.
By then, toxins had seeped into every crevice of every building, accelerated and tossed around by the tornado, and sprinkled across the whole town like murderous snow. The buildings left standing by the tornado were – and still are – in a state of utter disrepair, with shattered windows, scattered belongings and clothing, and nothing left but vague memories of a place that was.
He was so devoted to caring for the folks of Picher that he chose to stay until the last resident left and the town no longer needed his services. On June 6th, 2015, he died very suddenly at the age of 60 – and with him, so too did Picher.
Visiting the town is extremely discouraged by just about everyone, from us to the EPA. The town is still dangerous, at higher risk than ever of literal collapse.
Picher is one ghost town in Oklahoma that even experienced urban explorers avoid.
The risks of a visit are entirely too high – possibly a lifetime of illness – and the rewards are low. This place is in no way worth harming oneself for. Please admire it through these beautiful photographs.
There are many places that were all over the Sooner State, but this one is especially eerie. It’s not every day we get to witness the slow death and decomposition of a once-booming town, but here we are. Do you know anyone who lived in Picher? Do you have memories of the town during a better time? Tell us about them in the comments.
