The only remaining structure of the original town is the Meers Store & Restaurant, which Food Network named as the best hamburger joint in Oklahoma and one of the best in the United States, largely due to its signature MeersBurger.[2]
The Meers Store also served as the area post office from March 12, 1902, until February, 1989.[3] Currently, area residents have Lawton mailing addresses.
Geological formation of Southwest Oklahomaedit
Meers is defined by a geological displacement or planar fracture known as the Meers Fault.[4] The northwestern Meers fault and the southeastern Meers fault lines are geologically situated in the central lowlands.[5]
In 1955, a primitive mill, recognized as an arrastra, was discovered 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Meers near Meers Road or Oklahoma State Highway 115.[23]
The 16th-century mill, situated to close proximity of Cedar Creek, was considered to be of Spanish design and origin.[24] The arrastra permitted comminution of earth elements being gold and silver essentially scaling the metallics for protracted overland passages. The fragmentation process formed a suitable ductile element for conveyance by pack saddle.
Listing as National Register of Historic Placesedit
The Meers Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as Meers Mining Camp, since it was the only surviving relic of the community's gold rush days.[36][37]
Referencesedit
^ abcU.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Meers, Oklahoma
^Food Network Top American Restaurants: Bon Appetit Picks the Best.
^Shirk, George H. (1952). "First Post Offices Within the Boundaries of Oklahoma". The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 30 (1 - Spring 1952). Oklahoma Historical Society: 79, 38–104. LCCN 23027299. OCLC 655582328.
^Luza, Kenneth V. "Earthquakes". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
^"Southeastern Meers Fault". Southeastern Section (Class A) ~ Fault ID No. 1031b. U.S. Geological Survey.
^Oklahoma Geological Survey Seismograph Stations Archived 2007-04-16 at the Wayback Machine. (accessed February 14, 2007)
^Meers, Oklahoma Quaternary Fault. (accessed October 5, 2012)
^Cartwright, Mark. "Conquistador". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Netchev, Simeon. "Spanish Conquest & Exploration in North America in the 16th century". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^"Conquistadors: Searching for Gold and Glory and Finding Something Else". Story of Texas - Campfire Stories. Bullock Texas State History Museum.
^Cartwright, Mark. "The Conquest of New Spain". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Young, Otis E. (1965). "The Spanish Tradition in Gold and Silver Mining". Arizona and the West. 7 (4). Journal of the Southwest: 299–314. JSTOR 40167137.
^Chaudhuri, Kirti N. (October 1994). "Precious Metals and Mining in the New World: 1500–1800". European Review. 2 (4). Cambridge University Press: 261–270. doi:10.1017/S1062798700001186. S2CID 143538025.
^Lewis, Tom; Richter, Sara Jane. "Coronado Expedition". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
^Hancock, James. "The Iberian Conquest of the Americas". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Chipman, Donald E. "Seven Cities of Cibola". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
^Krieger, Margery H. "Quivira". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
^Hollon, W. Eugene (1956). "A Spanish "Arrastra" in the Wichita Mountains". The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 34 (4 - Winter 1956-57). Oklahoma Historical Society: 443–455. LCCN 23027299. OCLC 655582328.
^Kemp, L.W. "Atascosito Road". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
^"Map of Texas and Adjacent Regions in the Eighteenth Century". The Portal to Texas History. Hardin-Simmons University Library ~ University of North Texas Libraries.
^"Texas Trails: 1716-1886". The Portal to Texas History. Hardin-Simmons University Library ~ University of North Texas Libraries.
^Cartwright, Mark. "Treasure Ports of the Spanish Main". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Fossey, Will. "Old Spanish Trail". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
^Cartwright, Mark. "Spanish Galleon". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^"Spanish Treasure Fleets" [Spanish Treasure Fleets Timeline]. World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Netchev, Simeon. "The Spanish Main & the West Indies c.1720" [Trade Patterns and Routes of Spanish Main and West Indies]. World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Popple, Henry (1733). "Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche" [Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish settlements]. LOC Maps. United States Library of Congress. LCCN 2009582407.
^Cartwright, Mark. "The Gold of the Conquistadors". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^Cartwright, Mark. "The Silver of the Conquistadors". World History Encyclopedia. World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
^"Meers Mining Camp ~ 78002230". National Register Digital Assets. National Park Service. January 20, 1978.
^"NRHP nomination for Meers Mining Camp". National Park Service. U.S. Department of Interior. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
Bibliographyedit
Allen, Iva Williams (1954). "Early Days in Meers". The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 32 (3 - Autumn 1954). Oklahoma Historical Society: 278–289. LCCN 23027299. OCLC 655582328.
Wilson, Steve (1976). Oklahoma Treasures and Treasure Tales. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806121741. OCLC 1137911.
Hale, Duane K. (1981). "Gold in Oklahoma: The Last Great Gold Excitement in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1889-1918". The Chronicles of Oklahoma. 59 (3 - Fall 1981). Oklahoma Historical Society: 304–319. LCCN 23027299. OCLC 655582328.
Wilson, Steve (1982). Dauntless Gold Seekers of the Wichitas [Drill Bits, Picks, and Shovels: A History of Mineral Resources in Oklahoma]. The Gateway to Oklahoma History. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Historical Society. pp. 132–161. ISBN 0941498247. LCCN 82-81962. OCLC 982029050.
Everett, Dianna. "European Exploration". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
Weaver, Bobby D. "Gold". The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society.
Shirk, George H. (January 1, 1987). Oklahoma Place Names. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0806120287. OCLC 15805183.
Jones, Peter D. (2021). "The First Coins of the Americas". Internet Archive. Bookbaby.
Historical Video Archiveedit
☆ Back In Time: The Lost Gold of Oklahoma on YouTube
☆ The Coronado Expedition : Coronado National Memorial on YouTube
External linksedit
"Arrastra Site ~ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge" [National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form for Federal Properties]. U.S. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. May 11, 1981.
"Arrastra Site ~ Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge - NRIS No. 81000455". U.S. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. May 11, 1981.
"Meers General Store". Jim Argo Collection ~ Gateway to Oklahoma History. Oklahoma Historical Society.