North Miami: Route 66 and Mining History

North Miami is worth considering as a destination if you’re interested in the history of lead and zinc mining and historic transportation routes in northeastern Oklahoma. The town is four miles north of Miami on U.S. Highway 69, the historic U.S. Highway 66. Its history includes a connection to a road route, a former railway, and mining. In North Miami, these topics can be placed in a specific geographic context.

North Miami on Route 66

Oklahoma’s Route 66 passed through Quapaw, Commerce, North Miami, Miami, Narcissa, and Afton. North Miami lies between Commerce and Miami in this sequence and is distinct from the city of Miami. The stretch between Miami and Afton has a notable historic feature: it is the only nine-foot-wide section in Oklahoma. If you’d like to consider Route 66 not just as a name for a major highway but through its individual sections, this connection links North Miami to a specific part of the route.

Railway and Mining

Another transportation connection is the Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri Inter-Urban Railway (OK&M). It ran through North Miami toward Commerce and other mining locations, serving the lead and zinc mining industry. The line was built in 1908–09; in 1919, the Northeast Oklahoma Railroad (NEO) purchased the OK&M. Route 66 places North Miami within a named sequence of towns, while the OK&M was connected to the mining industry. These are two different perspectives on the town’s history: the route through several towns on the one hand, and the railway toward mining locations on the other.

Many miners lived in North Miami during the mining era. In Ottawa County’s mining district, North Miami was one of the most important towns located within the Tar Creek site. The regional context extends beyond the town. In northeastern Oklahoma, extensive lead and zinc ore mining continued from the early 20th century through the late 1970s. At the Tar Creek site, however, large-scale mining activities ended in the mid-1960s.

Earlier Geographic and Local History

North Miami lies approximately along the boundary between the areas the federal government assigned to the Quapaw Tribe to the north and the Peoria Tribe to the south. This approximate boundary location adds an older geographic connection to the later histories of transportation and mining.

The postal history also requires careful distinction between place names. Commerce’s first post office was initially called North Miami in 1914; the name was changed soon afterward. Today’s North Miami received this postal designation in 1915. The provisional naming of the post office in Commerce and the later postal designation of today’s North Miami were therefore two separate events.

If you’re planning an overnight stay in North Miami, you can search for hotels in the area and compare the results using your travel dates.

For the broader travel overview: Ottawa.