Next location: westbound eastbound
Just west of Picher, Oklahoma and Treece, Kansas, Treece Road bears south slightly to cross Tar Creek. On June 6, 1857, the Johnston-Weysse survey party crossed Tar Creek here, heading west. Hugh Campbell, whose job title was Astronomical Computer, noted in his diary that nearby settlers extracted tar from the creek, hence its name.
Chat piles near the creek’s east bank reminds us of the legacy left to the Quapaws.
Tar Creek lent its name to the region’s 1983 EPA Superfund site; lead, zinc, manganese and cadmium leached into groundwater, poisoning residents. More than 40 years later, the cleanup is still not complete.