Information on the lead mines around Picher, OK is hard to come by. I've seen discussion that the Frisco sourced most of their ballast from the pile at Central Mill, but by the mid 70's that activity had dried up. Large parts of the trackage around Picher were pulled up in 1980 and 82. The last of it, including the tracks around Central Mill, weren't pulled up until 1990. What I'm hoping to learn is what activity was still going on in that area in 1980?
In 1983, the EPA designated Picher as a superfund site. The only thing happening was people living there and getting dosed with toxic dust and water. Ultimately everyone in town accepted a buyout by year end 2008.
