They say Picher, Oklahoma is nothing more than a ghost town. Having heard from one of my old building photography friends that it was a historic place to photograph, I was curious. So a friend and I planned a trip to see what the fuss was all about.
The major theme is that Picher, Oklahoma is completely abandoned. At least that’s what I was told. I did not find that to be exactly true. According to the 2010 US Census Bureau, the population was 20. It sure seemed like there were a lot of homes left for the population to be 20. But, we didn’t go door to door and speak to anyone, so I guess the official population will have to be 20. In 2016, the population was over 1600.
In 1920, Picher, Oklahoma had a population of 9,676. The 2015 population estimate was 0 residents.
The Quapaw tribal police had 2 or 3 cars in the area the whole time we were there. It seems some of the old buildings had been subject to arson and vandalism. They kept a close eye on us but left us alone once they figured out we were only taking pictures.
Most notable of my old building photography in Picher, Oklahoma is the Picher Auction building and the Picher Church. Both buildings are wide open without any “Keep Out” signs present. Several of my church pictures showed a couple of variations with different filters added.
The piano was in the Auction building and turned out absolutely beautiful in my opinion. The church and its rays of light were 9 and 18 shot HDR photographs.
Don’t forget to share my Old Building Photography pictures of Picher, Oklahoma with your friends and family so we can show everyone just how beautiful Old Building Photography really is. If you’re ever in the area, be sure to have your camera ready and see what you can do to help record historic Picher, Oklahoma before it’s completely abandoned.
Jimmy Harmon is an award winning, published photographer using professional Sony photography equipment. From Senior Portraits and real estate photography to weddings and model shoots, contact Jimmy Harmon for your professional photography needs.
Jimmy is available to travel anywhere in the United States.
