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What to See &
Do | Where to Stay
Historic Jerome
Perched halfway up Cleopatra
Hill (part of Mingus Mountain), Jerome is an old
mining town that has survived as an artists'
colony. The town seems destined to fall down the
slope but it hangs on for dear life, in more ways
than one.
South of Sedona, and far older -- founded in
1876-- the town sits above what was the largest
copper mine in Arizona. Fifteen thousand people
lived here in 1929 (far more than in Sedona and the
town prospered until the mines and the mining
economy began petering out during the Great
Depression.
Pre-Columbian Native Americans found the ore
first. Then came the Spanish, finding copper
instead of the gold there were seeking. In 1876,
three European prospectors found rich copper
deposits and staked claims. Soon, the United Verde
Copper Company bought the claims and mining started
in earnest. The town was then a ramshackle
collection of tents and wooden shacks, and was
named for Eugene Jerome, the main investor in the
company.
Mining costs were high and transportation into
and out of town was difficult. A new owner, W.A.
Clark had more money to invest and he built a
narrow gauge railway which greatly reduced the
freight costs. United Verde became the largest
producing copper mine in the territory. Brick and
frame buildings dominated the town now, schools
were built and an opera house opened. Douglas
opened the Little Daizy Mine in 1912 and the town
continued to boom. But like most mining towns, the
copper eventually became scarce, the mines
curtailed activity and Jerome shriveled.
What to See & Do
The last mine folded in 1953. Artists discovered
the decaying ghost town during the mid-1960s, and
painters and craftspeople moved into the cliff-side
houses and established shops selling southwestern
art and crafts, including trinkets and gewgaws
fashioned from copper, silver, and gold. There are
a number of places with character in which to eat,
and lodgings including atmospheric bed and
breakfast inns.
Jerome State Historic Park is just off
Highway 89A, on a ridge. The mansion here was built
in 1917 by James "Rawhide Jimmy" Douglas, for a
short time the owner of the Little Daisy Mine. The
house holds displays of local mining history and a
walk through the grounds offers several views of
the town and the Verde Valley below. Major
landmarks are identified on placards at the
viewpoints. More local history is told in the
Jerome Historical Society Mine Museum. This
building from the turn of the century has exhibits
on the town's growth and industry when it was the
booming copper camp, plus a book and gift shop.
How to Get There
Jerome is located on Arizona Highway 89A -- a
scenic byway -- between Prescott and Flagstaff.
It's short drive -- about 30 minutes -- from
Sedona, and is 33 miles northeast of Prescott.
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