Picher's Last Days (Cont.)
Photos by John Schehrer
Ten years without people. This is Picher's Main Street as it appeared about 2009. All stores are deserted and vandals and looters have taken a heavy toll on things. The last business was a second hand store that is shown above. Weeds grow in the cracks of the sidewalks of this street. During early 2010 several buildings burned down on up the street. By 2012 nearly everything shown on these pages is now gone.
This old house has been set on fire and now is in a state of total disrepair. Weeds and brush are slowly claiming it.
Twenty-five years without people and this old original miner's shack could be the oldest remaining residential structure in Picher. The whole area is a victim of rapid decay and advancing brush and weeds.
Fifty years without people and this area of Picher has totally reverted to woods and undergrowth. This area was once a residential area with houses everywhere, but over the years the people moved away and the houses were torn down.
Sixty years without people and this old mining area has returned to wilderness. Old mill foundations are visible among the trees.
Eventually, all of the mining areas will probably be cleared and smoothed out. This reclamation has already been done at Galena, Kansas and is almost complete at Webb City, Missouri. Ottawa County's history will be a wonder to future generations.
