Paisley's Adventures, Travels, and Explorations. : Picher

Picher, Oklahoma. Part I.

Where do I start...

The Picher water tower.

This town is one of the coolest places within a couple hour drive of Arkansas City.

World War I and World War II helped create a lot of industry, as a large percentage of the metals mined in Picher were used to create bullets,
and bombshells. The industry that led to Picher's success eventually caused it's destruction. One of the by-products of Picher's metal mining
is the gigantic mounds of chat that are still present to this day.

I have read that families used to picnic on the chat. It was also reportedly used to fill children's sandboxes. The mounds of chat were
seemingly innocent. There was some concern when the local creek began to turn red.

Children were sick often, test scores were below average, and lung cancer was prominent. By the 1980's, test results led
to some preventative measures, but it wasn't until 2005 that the government started offering buyouts of houses and property owned in Picher.

These days, Picher is slowly dwindling. While there are still some residents, the buildings and businesses that were abandoned are crumbling.
I went for the first time in April 2015 and three months later we went again, and I can tell you in that amount of time, a few of the buildings looked
like they had caught fire.

If you are interested in seeing this once booming town, I'd go now. Just leave things as you found them, so that the other explorers can come
across the same amazing things you did.

<3