Sequoyah Fuels Corporation owned and operated a uranium processing plant near Gore, Oklahoma. The company was created in 1983 as a subsidiary of Kerr-McGee . In 1988 it was sold to General Atomics .
17-531: The plant is located near Gore, Oklahoma , close to the Illinois River and Interstate 40 . The plant started construction in 1968 and began operation in 1970. It converted yellowcake uranium into uranium hexafluoride . In 1987 it started converting depleted uranium hexafluoride into depleted uranium tetrafluoride . The plant ceased operation in 1993. A leak and explosion in 1986 left one worker dead and extreme groundwater and soil contamination across
34-481: A gasoline engine, and started running on the line without permission; but, operational problems with the trackage, encounters with another “pirate” user on the same line, and eventually a lawsuit from the railroad owners, caused that activity to cease. Early 1915 saw successful negotiations for sale of the road. The Webbers Falls Railroad Company was incorporated in Oklahoma on June 8, 1916 to actually take title to
51-429: A household in the town was $ 27,266, and the median income for a family was $ 37,000. Males had a median income of $ 28,125 versus $ 27,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 16,059. About 15.2% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over. Webbers Falls Railroad The Webbers Falls Railroad (W.F.R.R.)
68-425: A new location. It would be used for converting depleted uranium hexafluoride to depleted uranium tetrafluoride . On January 4, 1986, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation experienced a rupture which killed 26-year-old worker, James Harrison and hospitalized 37 of the 42 onsite workers. The American Journal of Public Health describes the plant as having "never fully recovered" from the accident. Another accident involving
85-637: The Sequoyah Fuels Corporation uranium mill on a 300 acres (120 ha) tract located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Gore to convert uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ). The UF 6 plant was bought by General Atomics in 1988, and closed in 1993. As of the census of 2000, there were 850 people, 368 households, and 257 families residing in the town. The population density was 372.4 inhabitants per square mile (143.8/km ). There were 416 housing units at an average density of 182.3 per square mile (70.4/km ). The racial makeup of
102-521: The 600-acre site. The plant was operated under Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation . In 1983 KMNC split into Quivira Mining Corporation and Sequoyah Fuels Corporation. The latter was given control of the plant. In 1988 Sequoyah Fuels Corporation was sold to General Atomics . In 2008 a company named International Isotopes said it would buy equipment and intellectual property from the Sequoyah Fuels Corp plant. The equipment would be used in
119-672: The Arkansas River between Campbell and Webbers Falls . Tahlonteskee , the capital of the Western Cherokee from 1828–1839, was near here, just two miles to the north of town. In 1829, John Jolly , chief of the Cherokee Nation–West , built a home in this area. The settlement was also known as Illinois Station or "Illinois Station, Campbell Post Office." It became a stage stop on the route between Fort Gibson and Fort Smith . A post office designation of Campbell
136-564: The first train out of Webbers Falls being inaugurated amid great fanfare on October 1 of that year. The railroad promised four passenger trains daily, with two in each direction, as well as ample freight service. The line connected with the Midland Valley Railroad at Warner, giving Webbers Falls a connection to the outside world other than its traditional link, the Arkansas River . Aspirations included extending
153-485: The line to Shawnee, Oklahoma , almost a hundred miles further west from Warner, at the very least. But the railroad quickly ran into financial difficulty, allegedly because the Midland Valley did not extend the concessions that the minor road needed to operate. The line ceased operations in 1914. During this downtime, a justice of the peace at Webbers Falls bought an old railroad handcar , equipped it with
170-549: The property. A snapshot of the W.F.R.R. in August 1916 showed an 11.6-mile standard gauge operation with its headquarters in Webbers Falls. The line was operating two coal-burning locomotives for freight, and two motor railcars for passengers. The W.F.R.R. still had an eye for expansion, and actually received Congressional consent on October 5, 1917 to construct a bridge over the Arkansas River, which would have allowed
187-481: The release of UF 6 occurred in 1992. The plant ceased production operations in 1993 and was decommissioned. 35°30′09″N 95°04′59″W / 35.5024°N 95.0830°W / 35.5024; -95.0830 Gore, Oklahoma Gore is a town in western Sequoyah County , Oklahoma , United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas -Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area . The population
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#1732798308983204-527: The town was 68.59% White , 0.12% African American , 24.71% Native American , 0.12% from other races , and 6.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population. There were 368 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who
221-449: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.78. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.7 males. The median income for
238-539: Was 977 at the 2010 census, an increase of 15 percent over the figure of 850 recorded in 2000 . Gore claims to be the " trout capital of Oklahoma ", with great fishing in Lake Tenkiller , the Illinois River , and the Arkansas River . This community began as a small settlement in Indian Territory known as Campbell, named for Dr. W. W. Campbell, who, along with Joe Lynch, operated a ferry across
255-450: Was a shortline railway operating between the towns of Webbers Falls and Warner in the State of Oklahoma . Its predecessor began operations in 1911, and its line was dismantled by 1918. The creator of the line was incorporated in Oklahoma on December 9, 1909 as the Webbers Falls, Shawnee and Western Railroad. It constructed trackage between Webbers Falls and Warner during 1911, with
272-534: Was assigned to Dr. Campbell's store in 1888. Also in 1888, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway (later the Missouri Pacific Railway ) built a rail line through the settlement. By 1909, the town had a bank, two lumber companies, a flour mill, a cotton gin, two hotels, and numerous retail outlets. The town changed its name on October 22, 1909, in honor of Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore , who
289-564: Was serving as one of Oklahoma's U. S. senators immediately after statehood. A fire destroyed most of the business district in 1909. Gore had a population of 319 by the 1910 U. S. census. The town almost got a second rail line in 1917 when Congress approved construction by the Webbers Falls Railroad of a bridge over the Arkansas from Webbers Falls . However, that railroad was instead scrapped in 1918. Kerr-McGee built
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