An Ottawa County Ghost Town

Leftover relics from yesteryear

Photos by John Schehrer

Weeds and brush cover the remains of the town of Douthat, Oklahoma.  This mining town came into existence overnight and was all but gone after a few years.  Giant chat piles and mill foundations surround the remains of the town.  The heavily poluted Tar Creek flows just west of the town. 

The remains of a railroad trestle stick up of the bed of Tar Creek.  The rust color is due to polluted water that has overflowed from the water filled mines.  The Picher mining fields is one of the most polluted areas in the United States.

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    A long tramway leading to one of the Admiralty Mills bisects this business section of Douthat.  This killed these businesses.  These are the buildings in the picture above and on the previous page.  Three of the stores already have no roofs.  The giant chat pile from which this picture was taken threatens to bury the whole town.