Hockerville, Oklahoma
Ghost town in Oklahoma, United States
36°59′38″N 94°46′52″W / 36.99389°N 94.78111°W / 36.99389; -94.78111Hockerville is a ghost town in northern Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States.[1] Hockerville was a mining community near the Kansas-Oklahoma border; it once had more than 500 residents. At least 18 mines operated in the Hockerville area in 1918 alone.
Geography
The community was located just south of the Kansas-Oklahoma border between Picher to the west and Baxter Springs, Kansas, to the northeast.[2]
History
The settlement was named for Leslie C. Hocker, an early resident.[3] A post office operated from 1918 to 1963.[3]
Circa 1918, Hockerville was billed as "the young, substantial, and progressive young city of the Oklahoma Mining District"; the area was home to at least 18 mines.[4]
Hockerville's population was 550 in 1940.[5]
The area was mined for zinc ore and lead from the early 1900s to the late 1970s, leaving in a 40-square-mile (100 km2) area—which includes Hockerville—contaminated by toxins, and part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site.[6]
Education
Picher-Cardin Public Schools, which was the local school district, closed in 2009.[7] The area was placed into Quapaw Public Schools.[8][9]
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hockerville, Oklahoma
- ^ Oklahoma Atlas & Gazetteer, DeLorme, 1st ed., 1998, p. 27 ISBN 0899332838
- ^ a b Shirk, George H.; Wright, Muriel H. (1974). Oklahoma Place Names. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 117.
- ^ "Hockerville!". Miami Daily Record-Herald. June 5, 1918. p. 5. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 776. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "Tar Creek Superfund Site - Ottawa County, OK". Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
- ^ Gillham, Omer; Stogsdill, Sheila (May 17, 2009). "Picher school says farewell to last 11". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- ^ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Ottawa County, OK" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021. - Compare to the highway map.
- ^ "Ottawa County" (PDF). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
- v
- t
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Municipalities and communities of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States
County seat: Miami
communities
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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