Mining Days at Commerce, Oklahoma.
New mines dot the prairie at Commerce, Oklahoma about 1910.  Underground mining of lead and zinc started here about 10 years before ore was discovered at Picher.
A primitive mine and small mill stands next to the unit shown above.  This small outfit is similar to those used in the Joplin district and may have been moved from there to this location near Commerce, Oklahoma.
A day in the mines at Commerce

Photographer Etta Jacobs shot this picture in a heavily mined area at Commerce, Ok. probably during the 1920s.  Here we see the mines and mills during full production.  
Photo courtesy of John Taylor.
10/27/2014