Meers, Oklahoma Explained

Meers, Oklahoma
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA Oklahoma#USA
Pushpin Label:Meers
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Oklahoma
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Oklahoma
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Comanche
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2010
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1460
Coordinates:34.7828°N -98.5789°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Postal Code:73558
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:40-47500
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1100624

Meers is an unincorporated community located on State Highway 115 in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, in the foothills of the Wichita Mountains. In 1901, Meers was founded as a gold prospecting town where it was named in honor of mine operator Andrew J. Meers from Cherokee County, Georgia.

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.[1]

The Meers Store also served as the area post office from March 12, 1902, until February, 1989.[2] Currently, area residents have Lawton mailing addresses.

Geological formation of Southwest Oklahoma

Meers is defined by a geological displacement or planar fracture known as the Meers Fault.[3] The northwestern Meers fault and the southeastern Meers fault lines are geologically situated in the central lowlands.[4]

In 1985, in order to monitor a seismic event, the Oklahoma Geological Survey installed a seismograph in the Meers Store.[5] [6]


Spanish prospectors in the Wichita Mountains

Wichita Mountains region is believed to have captivated the first Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century, 17th century, and 18th century.[7] The epoch was defined by the geographical exploration of North America as orchestrated by the Spanish Empire during the sixteenth century inland expeditions.[8]

The Spanish colonization of the Americas revealed substantial developments with the establishment of the territorial entities known as New Spain and Spanish Texas.[9] [10] The Red River of the South was explored by the Spaniards originating during the 16th century.[11] The Montague County, Texas administrative division sustains exemplary events chronicled at Spanish Fort, Texas dating to the eighteenth century.[12] [13] The Spanish Empire explored native kingdoms specifically for gold mining and silver mining collectively as the proprietors of the Treasure of Villena and the Spanish royal crown's decrees often referred to as the Doctrine of Discovery and Laws of the Indies.[14] [15] The monarchy and regal decrees entitled chartering expeditionary campaigns to collect geological and mineral surveys on distant coasts and continents.[16] [17]

The Spanish Empire's exploratory caravans were possessed by the tales of the earlier explorers who exalted the New World's mythic lands.[18] A dominion located in the Terra incognita cartographically recognized as the outlying northern territory of North America. The Spanish conquistadors conceptualized the New World's landscape by a covetous euphoria for the Iberian Peninsula horde beseeching the Seven Cities of Gold treasuring the similarities of the Las Médulas.[19] [20] [21]

The group eleven elements were an alluring earthly possession serving as a periodic element for the crown jewels. The mineral ore forged as a coinage metal or milled coinage for the currency of Spain and Spanish America authentically illustrated by the Spanish escudo. The precious metals were mutually considered a barter and medium of exchange for cultural diplomacy and greetings with native kingdoms.

In 1955, a primitive mill, recognized as an arrastra, was discovered 2miles south of Meers near Meers Road or Oklahoma State Highway 115.[22] The 16th-century mill, situated to close proximity of Cedar Creek, was considered to be of Spanish design and origin.[23] 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.

The Spanish prospector's packhorse route was a southerly journey into the Texas Blackland Prairies migrating into the Lower Rio Grande Valley ― Atascocita Road ― while transitioning to the Gulf Coastal Plain venturing the coastal geography of northeastern Mexico's mountainous region known as Sierra Madre Oriental.[24] [25] [26] The prized noble metal was conferred for transfer on the east coast of Mexico at the port of Veracruz ― San Juan de Ulúa ― treasure port for Spanish Main.[27]

The transition metals encompassed an overland passage — Old Spanish Trail — of the New World to Spanish galleons of the Spanish treasure fleet in St. Augustine, Florida adorned by the Spanish fortification Castillo de San Marcos.[28] [29] [30] Spain's medieval ships would potentially anchor in Havana and Spanish Wells for mustering seafaring provisions, water, and wine.[31] [32] The spanish cargo fleets ― 1715 Treasure Fleet ― continued the nautical voyage with winds sustaining the transatlantic crossing to the Old World in anticipation of the King's treasure homecoming in Cartagena, Spain.[33] [34]

Listing as National Register of Historic Places

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.[35] [36]

Bibliography

Historical Video Archive

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External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_sp/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9994_51988,00.html Food Network Top American Restaurants: Bon Appetit Picks the Best
  2. First Post Offices Within the Boundaries of Oklahoma . Shirk . George H. . 1952 . . 30 . 1 - Spring 1952 . Oklahoma Historical Society . 23027299 . 655582328 . 79, 38–104.
  3. Web site: Earthquakes . Luza . Kenneth V. . The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture . Oklahoma Historical Society.
  4. Web site: Southeastern Meers Fault . Southeastern Section (Class A) ~ Fault ID No. 1031b . U.S. Geological Survey.
  5. http://www.okgeosurvey1.gov/stations.html Oklahoma Geological Survey Seismograph Stations
  6. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/qfaults/eusa/sokla.php Meers, Oklahoma Quaternary Fault
  7. Web site: Conquistador . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  8. Web site: Spanish Conquest & Exploration in North America in the 16th century . Netchev . Simeon . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  9. Web site: Conquistadors: Searching for Gold and Glory and Finding Something Else . Story of Texas - Campfire Stories . Bullock Texas State History Museum.
  10. Web site: The Conquest of New Spain . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  11. Web site: Highways Paved with Gold - Marker No. 2479 . 1963 . Texas Historic Sites Atlas . Texas Historical Commission.
  12. Web site: Spanish Fort, TX . Morrell . Lea Anne . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  13. Web site: Spanish Fort Sites . Jelks . Edward B. . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  14. Web site: Doctrine of Discovery . Mark . Joshua J. . World History Encyclopedia . World History Publishing ~ World History Foundation.
  15. Indies, Laws of the . 14 . 484-485 . 1.
  16. The Spanish Tradition in Gold and Silver Mining . Young . Otis E. . 1965 . English . Arizona and the West . 7 . 4 . 299–314 . . 40167137.
  17. Precious Metals and Mining in the New World: 1500–1800 . Chaudhuri . Kirti N. . October 1994 . English . . 2 . 4 . 261–270 . Cambridge University Press . 10.1017/S1062798700001186. 143538025 .
  18. Web site: Coronado Expedition . Lewis . Tom . Richter . Sara Jane . The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture . Oklahoma Historical Society.
  19. Web site: The Iberian Conquest of the Americas . Hancock . James . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  20. Web site: Seven Cities of Cibola . Chipman . Donald E. . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  21. Web site: Quivira . Krieger . Margery H. . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  22. A Spanish "Arrastra" in the Wichita Mountains . Hollon . W. Eugene . 1956 . . 34 . 4 - Winter 1956-57 . Oklahoma Historical Society . 23027299 . 655582328 . 443–455.
  23. Cedar Creek
  24. Web site: Atascosito Road . Kemp . L.W. . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  25. Web site: Map of Texas and Adjacent Regions in the Eighteenth Century . The Portal to Texas History . Hardin-Simmons University Library ~ University of North Texas Libraries.
  26. Web site: Texas Trails: 1716-1886 . The Portal to Texas History . Hardin-Simmons University Library ~ University of North Texas Libraries.
  27. Web site: Treasure Ports of the Spanish Main . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  28. Web site: Old Spanish Trail . Fossey . Will . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.
  29. Web site: Spanish Galleon . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  30. Web site: Spanish Treasure Fleets . Spanish Treasure Fleets Timeline . World History Encyclopedia . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  31. Web site: The Spanish Main & the West Indies c.1720 . Netchev . Simeon . Trade Patterns and Routes of Spanish Main and West Indies . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  32. Web site: Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche . Popple . Henry . 1733 . Map of the British Empire in America with the French and Spanish settlements . LOC Maps . 2009582407 . United States Library of Congress.
  33. Web site: The Gold of the Conquistadors . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  34. Web site: The Silver of the Conquistadors . Cartwright . Mark . . World History Foundation ~ World History Publishing.
  35. Web site: Meers Mining Camp ~ 78002230 . January 20, 1978 . National Register Digital Assets . National Park Service.
  36. Web site: [{{NRHP url|78002230}} NRHP nomination for Meers Mining Camp ]. National Park Service . U.S. Department of Interior . 2017-11-03.

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