Mining for Picher
Fruits of the earth build up a town — and then break it, and its residents, apart.

Shaft: After ore deposits were found, workers used dynamite to clear 300-foot-deep mine shafts for entering and exiting the mines. They rode up and down the square tunnels in buckets attached to a cable during the early years. Four miners at a time fell at the speed of gravity for most of their descent.

Ladders: A worker on a ladder about 100 feet tall would chip ore off of the ceiling of a mine. His ladder was steadied by two other workers, holding ropes. They would swing the ladder, with him still on top, from wall to wall in search of new ore. Other workers blasted rock walls with dynamite to advance the tunnels.

Support pillars: At first, the mining companies left thick pillars to support the towns above their caves. But as the dense ore patches ran out, practices changed. Many support pillars were shaved down or blown out entirely by miners and independent gougers in the later years of the mines, which closed for good in 1970.

Mills: Most rock pulled out from the ground was not worth much, so the waste had to be separated from the valuable lead and zinc. That processing happened at a mill like this one. Chemicals were used to float the ore out; machines shook it free. The leftovers were dumped into giant mounds of toxic gravel that still tower over Picher today. Locals call them "chat piles.”

Underground transport: In the early years, mules pulled the newly blasted ore on underground train tracks. At a mine shaft, the ore was hoisted back to surface level.

Smelting: After processing, the zinc and lead were taken to nearby towns to be melted down and made useful. Metals from the mines near Picher were used for guns and ammo in both world wars. In the 1920s, the area was said to be the largest lead and zinc producer in the world.

Staff Writer John Sutter