Oklahoma is a state renowned for its natural grandeur, diverse culture, and extensive history. Nevertheless, not every municipality in the region is flourishing in the twenty-first century.
Certain regions are currently grappling with obstacles including but not limited to social issues, environmental degradation, and economic stagnation. Seven Oklahoma communities are currently experiencing a significant outflow of residents, according to multiple sources.
Read more: Here Are 5 Arizona Cities People Are Leaving as Soon as Possible
1. Cardin
Cardin is a dead town in Ottawa County, which is close to the borders of Kansas and Missouri. The town used to be very busy with mining, but lead and zinc trash from nearby mines made it dirty.
In 1983, the town was named a Superfund site, and the Environmental Protection Agency moved most of the people who lived there. Cardin is mostly gone now; only a few houses and a graveyard are left.
2. Lone Wolf
The town of Lone Wolf is in Kiowa County. It was named for a Kiowa chief. It was built in 1901 as a railroad town and did well with farming and oil output. However, the town had to deal with droughts, dust storms, and the Great Depression in the 1930s.
Its population dropped from more than 1,000 in 1950 to less than 400 in 2020, and it has never fully returned. There is a lot of crime in the town, and people don’t like living there.
3. Corn
The Germans who moved to Washita County in 1892 started the town of Corn. It was first called Korn, which is the German word for grain. But because of anti-German feelings during World War I, it was changed to Corn in 1918.
People know the town for its Mennonite history, the Corn Bible Academy that happens every year, and the Corn Carnival. But in the last few decades, many young people have left the town to find better chances elsewhere, and it has lost a lot of people and businesses.
4 Earlsboro
The town of Earlsboro is in Pottawatomie County, close to the Seminole Nation. It was built in 1891 as a trade post, and when oil was found in the area in the 1920s, it took off.
The town was called the “Town that Oil Built,” and it drew a lot of famous people, bettors, and people who were breaking the law.
The oil boom didn’t last long, though, and by the 1930s, the town was broke. The town has never been as great as it used to be, and it has had problems with crime, poverty, and unemployment.
5. Hitchcock
The town of Hitchcock is in Blaine County. It was named for a railroad official. It began as a farming village in 1892 and kept growing until the 1940s.
The town did suffer a lot, though, during the Dust Bowl, when railroads went out of business and schools were merged. The town is now a dead town because most of the people and companies have left. The Skeleton Creek Ranch, a spooky house that opens for Halloween, is the only draw left in Hitchcock.