PICHER, Okla. (AP) — A former museum that was one of the last remnants of an abandoned mining community in Ottawa County has been destroyed by a fire.
The Oklahoman reports Picher Mining Field Museum, which was on the National Register of Historic Places, caught fire late Monday or early Tuesday. Quapaw Tribe Fire Department Chief Jeff Reeves declined to comment on the possible origin of the fire.
The Tar Creek area was purchased in a federally funded buyout after a 2006 Army Corps of Engineers study revealed abandoned lead and zinc mines beneath Picher, Cardin and Hockerville had a high risk of caving in.
The 88-year-old building was not demolished during the buyout.
After the buyout, the museum's archives were transported to Pittsburg State University, and artifacts were sent to Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum in Kansas.