Spelter City is a populated place within the city of Henryetta, Oklahoma. It is located northeast of Henryetta’s town center, and west of

Dewar, Oklahoma Dewar is a town in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 818 at the 2010 census, a decline of 11.0 percent from the figure of 919 recorded in 2000. Founded in 1909 by workers for the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (MO& ...

. The area was originally a separate platted addition formally called the Henryetta Townsite Company, but which Henryetta annexed in 1916. Known as Spelter City, it became a “city within a city” due to the placement of a massive

Eagle-Picher Eagle-Picher Technologies is a privately held, American, manufacturing company known for its battery technology, energetic devices and battery management systems. The company started in 1842 as the White Lead Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. A merge ...

zinc smelting facility there. Because the area was remote from Henryetta’s business district, it developed as a separate enclave, complete with its own hotels and union hall. The word “spelter” is directly tied to zinc. One definition says spelter literally means zinc, especially in the form of ingots, slabs or plates. Another definition says spelter refers to impure zinc, usually containing about 3 per cent of lead and other impurities. Smelting continued at the location through the 1960’s before being discontinued. But Spelter City continues to be shown on maps and the name applied as a recognized area of Henryetta.

References

Unincorporated communities in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-geo-stub