Boise City, Oklahoma: Bomb in the Sidewalk

We received a report from tipster Don Sudduth that the Replica Bomb Crater in Boise City was nowhere to be found a few weeks ago. The Replica Crater, a 2-ft. deep indentation in cement with a bomb casing and a plaque, marked the general location where the town was accidentally bombed by a military aircraft on a night training mission on July 6, 1943.

The Chamber of Commerce phone number was no longer working, so we contacted Jody at the town's Cimarron Heritage Center (a museum which features a bombing exhibit). The Replica Bomb Crater is only temporarily gone during a renovation period, as new waterlines are installed on the square and the sidewalk is widened. The state had provided a small budget to remove the crater landmark, but the Chamber of Commerce had other plans for the funds. Jody found out about the offbeat tourist attraction's imminent demise -- at the town's 75th Anniversary celebration for historic milestone on July 6, 2018, only a week before it would have been destroyed. She kicked up a fuss, and apparently the landmark was preserved and stored and will return, slightly further back from the road, perhaps by November.

We conveyed our gratitude for Jody's keen eye on what might have been a devastating blow to Boise City's out-of-state tourist traffic and the public's appreciation of military mishap landmarks. For now, she advises travelers to stop in at the Cimarron Heritage Center for the latest Replica Bomb Crater news.