Picher, Oklahoma: The most POISONED town in the US

Picher, Oklahoma is a ghost town, evacuated after decades of unhealthy mining practices turned it into a toxic waste dump. Massive chat piles stood in town, right next to homes and businesses. Huge numbers of children had lead poisoning. The area is part of the Tar Creek superfund site, and is considered the most polluted place in the United States. Tar Creek ran red, and it took more than 40 years of treatment to rehabilitate the waterway. A 2008 F4 tornado halted attempts to make Picher a safe place to live. 20 blocks of town were destroyed, 6 people killed, and remaining residents were bought out by the government so they could move somewhere safer. Mickey Mantle, legendary Yankee, grew up only a few miles away in Commerce, Oklahoma. His wife Merlyn was from Picher, and his father Mutt worked in the Picher mines. Mickey married Merlyn at her family home in Picher. In this video I explore what is left in Picher. A few structures still stand. I find a memorial to two teenage murder victims, Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible, who disappeared in 1999 and are believed to rest somewhere in Picher. They still haven’t been found.

This footage was filmed on December 2, 2021. I return to the Jack the Ripper series next week since a blizzard has me home bound without child care right now. Please like and subscribe if you enjoy this adventure and like history.

#abandoned #ghosttown #mickeymantle #explore #pollution