Picher (AP)-The demolition of the northeast Oklahoma town of Picher has begun with a funeral home being the first building to be brought down.

The Tulsa World reports the Paul Thomas Funeral Home was demolished Monday as a part of the federal buyout of the town located in the contaminated Tar Creek Superfund Site.

The land is contaminated following decades of lead and zinc mining and the abandoned mines have been found to create a high risk of caving in.

The federal government is spending about $50 million to buy out residents and business owners and to demolish 247 properties.

Four properties considered historical will not be destroyed. They are the Picher Auction House, the Picher Mining Museum, the Christian Church and a former factory that produced mining equipment.