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Cardin, Oklahoma

Ghost town
In Cardin, Oklahoma
2.2 mi from Route 66

Directions OpenStreetMap

Cardin, a former zinc and lead mining town in Ottawa County, OK, lies near Miami, about 2.2 miles off the old road. It sits inside the Tar Creek Superfund site, which dates from 1983 and was created over heavy contamination. Most residents took federal buyouts, and the population fell from 150 in 2000 to 3 in April 2010, then to zero by that November.

What is Cardin?

Today Cardin is a ghost town with no residents, one of several emptied mining towns clustered in this corner of Oklahoma. Mining brought people here, and the contamination it left behind eventually led nearly everyone to leave.

Visiting Cardin: tips

Because of the contamination, stay on public roads and do not collect anything. Picher is about 1.3 miles away, Douthat about 1.4 miles and Treece about 1.8 miles.

Practical info

Address: Oklahoma

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

On the map

Cardin with the 6 closest stops. Tap a marker for details.

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Stops near Cardin

All of Oklahoma

Picher, Oklahoma

Picher

Picher, Oklahoma · 2.7 mi from Route 66

A lead and zinc boomtown emptied by poisoned ground, cave-in danger and a 2008 tornado, now a ghost town.

Ghost townPhoto credit

1.3 mi from Cardin

Douthat

Douthat, Oklahoma · 1.1 mi from Route 66

An abandoned 1917 lead and zinc camp south of Picher, now empty and inside the Tar Creek Superfund site.

1.4 mi from Cardin

Treece, Kansas

Treece

Treece, Kansas · 3.9 mi from Route 66

A Kansas mining town emptied by lead pollution; most of it was torn down by 2012.

Ghost townPhoto credit

1.8 mi from Cardin

Zincville

Zincville, Oklahoma · 2.5 mi from Route 66

A former mining camp between Picher and Hockerville, close to the Kansas line.

2.6 mi from Cardin

statue of Mickey Mantle in Commerce, OK

statue of Mickey Mantle

Commerce, Oklahoma · on Route 66

A nine-foot statue of Yankees great Mickey Mantle stands beyond the outfield at his old high school.

Art & landmarksPhoto credit

3.7 mi from Cardin

Hockerville, Oklahoma

Hockerville

Hockerville, Oklahoma · 1.9 mi from Route 66

A lead and zinc camp on the Kansas line, once home to 500-plus people and now an emptied Superfund ghost town.

Ghost townPhoto credit

4.1 mi from Cardin

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