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Hockerville, Oklahoma
- Ghost town
- In Hockerville, Oklahoma
- 1.9 mi from Route 66
Hockerville is a ghost town at the northern edge of Ottawa County, OK, just below the Kansas line and about 2 miles off Route 66 near Baxter Springs, KS. It grew up as a lead and zinc mining camp with more than 500 residents at its peak, and at least 18 mines were working around it in 1918. It lies inside the Tar Creek Superfund site, and its residents were bought out over lead pollution and cave-in risk.
What is Hockerville?
Hockerville sat just below the Kansas line, with Picher a few miles west and Baxter Springs, Kansas, off to the northeast, at the Oklahoma end of the Tri-State Mining District. Today there is no town left to see in any real sense: the area is part of the Tar Creek Superfund site, a broad stretch of land contaminated by decades of lead and zinc mining.
History of Hockerville
The camp boomed with the mines of the 1910s and at its height was home to over 500 people. Mining left chat piles, undermined ground and polluted water behind. Hockerville was one of three Oklahoma communities, with Picher and Cardin, whose residents were offered a federal and state buyout because of lead pollution and the risk of cave-ins, and in 2012 the EPA asked people not to trespass on the bought-out properties, which it said were not for residential or public use.
Visiting Hockerville: tips
Treat Hockerville as a name on the map rather than a stop. The bought-out land carries deed notices and is not for public use, so see it, if at all, from public roads, and leave chat and old mine ground alone. Zincville is about 1.5 miles away and Picher about 2.9 miles; on Route 66 itself, the Baxter Springs Independent Oil and Gas Service Station is about 3.4 miles off in Kansas.
On the map
Full mapHockerville with the 6 closest stops. Tap a marker for details.
Tap a dot to see that stop here.
Stops near Hockerville
All of Oklahoma1.5 mi from Hockerville
2.9 mi from Hockerville
3.3 mi from Hockerville
3.4 mi from Hockerville
3.5 mi from Hockerville
3.5 mi from Hockerville
Questions about Hockerville
Where is Hockerville, Oklahoma?
Hockerville is in the northern tip of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, just south of the Kansas state line, with Picher about 3 miles to the west and Baxter Springs, Kansas, off to the northeast. It lies about 2 miles off Route 66 in the old Tri-State lead and zinc mining district.
Can you visit Hockerville, Oklahoma?
Only from the road. Hockerville is inside the Tar Creek Superfund site, and the bought-out properties carry deed notices and are not for public use. There is no town or museum to visit, so it is best seen as a quick drive past on the way to Picher or Baxter Springs.
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