Jerome, Arizona

Respect for the Past – Looking to the Future

Jerome, Arizona

The folks in Jerome do not like it when us outsiders call Jerome a ghost town, but I take that to mean they don't want us to call it an abandoned town, which it isn't. After all, Jerome is one of America’s premier “Ghost Cities”. "Jeromians" have tried to explain to me that the negative connotation of the words “ghost town” bandied about by writers has left a negative stigma on this “former mining community now on the road to restoration.” I have explained what a ghost town is (see description on Home Page), and that Jerome is technically a “semi-ghost town”. Personally I think the supernatural ghost seekers and their haunting stories about vortexes (or is that vortices?), ghosts and other apparitions “seen” floating in the ether in Jerome causes more negative connotation than the positive historical context of what Jerome actually was - a company copper mining town - and is - a PROUD member of Ghost Town USA. This former mining city has a strong respect for the past, yet looks to the future with its eyes wide open. In fact that fact is emblazoned on the sign hanging over the entrance to the town’s Police Department housed in the city hall buildings next to the old historic fire station.

Today, 444 people (2010 census) live where 15,000 once clung to the side of a mountain. The famed “fading population” sign with the crossed off population figures ending in “Ghost City” has been replaced by one that touts “Historic Jerome $ Billion Dollar Copper Camp.”

Clinging to the steep slopes and folds of Cleopatra Hill, on the north side of the Mingus Mountains, Jerome is visible from the Verde Valley to the north. Seven miles from Clarkdale, up a narrow winding road (State Highway 89A), the outskirts of this fantastic old copper town are reached. The beginning of town is marked by the now-empty Mohawk Mini-Mart. Missing are the gas pumps and customers. Continue up the hill and pass the old school, which has been partially turned into an art gallery. Park the car downtown and browse the artsy-craftsy shops, inhale the aromas drifting from the cafes and restaurants, and peer into windows full of memories. During our visit in November 2009, I entered one art gallery in order to ask where the nearest public restroom was located. The quietly haunting sound of Native American flute music wafted gently from the surround sound system while a library-like silence pervaded the gallery. A pair of ladies in their early 60s, their fingers wrapped with lumpy bands of sparkling diamonds, quietly spoke about the intricacies and merits of a multi-colored glass vase, or should I say “VAHHZ.” One lady held it up to the light and discussed the visual impact of light flow through the irregularities in the handmade glass. The other lady thought another piece flowed better, and would look better on HER gallery shelf.

After receiving the information I needed from the gallery owner, I thanked her and passed by the two ladies again. Another vase was being examined, and as I left I noted the brand new Jaguar outside along the curb. ‘Nuf said!

Jerome is full of contradictions, memories and history, and is well worth a visit. A good starting point is the State Park Museum, which is located in the old Douglas Mansion, near the Little Daisy Hotel (undergoing restoration in 2009). In the heart of the old business district downtown is another museum, this one run by the Jerome Historical Society.

What exactly was and is Jerome?

At the time of my previous visit in the summer of 1999, folks that lived there told me Jerome had shed its ghost town persona and become a “former mining community now on the road to restoration.” A walk through the downtown will make a believer of you. Jerome is different. I can’t say if the artistic crowd is the reason, or if Jerome has enough civic pride to do it right. It exudes a personality unlike any other still-living, badly faded mining town. In fact, I place it almost in a unique category. History is celebrated, and the town wears bigger than it really is. Most of the habitable buildings have been re-occupied, but the past is not shoveled into the relic heap. Restorations are authentic, and the garish touristy stuff is minimized. Ruins remain next to occupied buildings in a town where patina and roughness of the past is still very evident and very real. Look at the sign for the Post Office. It looks old, but it really isn’t.

Jerome hits me in the gut about the same way Bodie (California), Englewood (Kansas), Elkhorn (Montana) and St. Elmo (Colorado) do. There's an aura of reverence that surrounds the steep streets, magnificent views and sliding buildings. You can’t describe this community without under-exaggerating. Where else can you browse high-brow art galleries owned by former urban refugee artists, then stroll next door into a building filled with tables heaping full of 33 RPM vinyl Beatle albums (remember them?), rusting curling irons and other garage sale cast-offs all for sale for “pay what you think they are worth”?

Where else can you pitch pennies, nickels, dimes or quarters at an outhouse tucked into the basement of a large brick ruin of a former commercial building?

Where else can you have veggie-wraps, mineral water and watch a plasma TV while browsing glass lizards for sale in an Old West-style saloon/café with an antique pressed tin ceiling?

Where else can you find a badly cracked building that is sliding down a hill – with a “For Sale” sign out front?

This is Jerome!

In 1999, both the “garage sale” and the coin toss were being used by the historical society for collecting money to help restore the community. I didn’t notice the garage sale on this go-around.

Jerome began like any other mining camp. In this case the ore was copper, and there was a lot of it; over a billion dollars worth. It was in 1876 that Al Sieber discovered the first ore. It wasn’t discovered on some nice flat piece of ground close to transportation centers. OH NO! It was found on the side of a mountain 2,000 feet above the Verde Valley. However, it wasn’t Sieber’s claim that made the news. It was two other claims filed that same year that created a rustle in the world of investment money. In 1880, Dr. James A Douglas was the first investor to arrive, but he didn’t like the mining camp clinging to the side of a mountain like a scared bear in a tree. He didn’t like the distance from the mines to the nearest railroad. He didn’t like the lack of fuel or processing facilities. He passed on the potential and invested in another unknown copper mining camp called Bisbee, in the far southeastern part of the territory.

Then territorial governor Frederick Tritle bought a lease in the Wade Hampton or Eureka mine. He brought in coke for fuel at extreme expense. The costs were higher than Tritle could afford, so he contacted a couple New York financiers, James A MacDonald and Eugene Jerome. Jerome said he’d cough up the cash if they named the mining town after him. Interestingly enough, he never visited his namesake!

It was done, and money flowed from New York to the new camp of Jerome. Unlike most mining camps in the west, the ore did not peter out, but grew richer. Jerome, Tritle and MacDonald formed the United Verde Copper Co. In 1883, and the boom was on, until the price of copper plummeted the next year. The mine closed down but the town still grew. Some of the copper ore was displayed at the Exposition of 1885 in New Orleans, and Montana Senator William A Clark spotted the copper samples. Since Clark was an old time mining man he instantly recognized the value of the samples.

On February 14, 1888, Clark and his partner Joseph Giroux purchased the mines and the United Verde was again the big name in town. The price of copper increased, and the mine reopened. Jerome boomed. With the boom came rampant growth, while three major fires tried to wipe out the cliff-hanging town. They didn’t. By 1899 Jerome had 15,000 people, and on March eighth of that year was incorporated as the City of Jerome, the fourth largest city in the territory of Arizona.

To reach the ore more efficiently in 1912 the United Verde Mine owners decided to open pit mine. The company’s smelter was relocated to the Verde valley, 2000 feet below. A small company town called Clarkdale (after Senator Clark) grew up near the smelter.

In 1915 the operation began 18 years of boom. In 1929 the stock market crash heralded the Great Depression, and by 1932, the price of copper was so low, the mine was forced to close.

By 1935 signs of the depression’s end appeared, and Phelps Dodge bought out the United Verde holdings, and reopened the mine. The mine really got a boost during WW II when the copper was needed for the war effort. However, after the war, costs increased, and Phelps Dodge had to finally shut down in 1953. Shortly after, the population dwindled to 100 and tourism became an important commodity. That is when the famed “Ghost City” sign went up.

On April 19, 1967 the Jerome Historic District was officially designated a Registered National Historic Landmark. “That the Past May Live” has become the community’s official motto. Before you begin your walking tour of Jerome, be sure to stop in the museum and pick up a selection of local history books, especially the Jerome Tour Guide. This booklet will make your visit much more rewarding. Some of the buildings worth seeing include the Connor Hotel, the Holy Family Church above the present fire station and the old jail on Main Street (one of at least three in town).

Jerome may not be a true ghost town according to the listing in Webster’s Dictionary, or in the hearts of Jerome’s residents. But in the eyes of this lowly ghost towner, it is high on the list of sites that followers of Ghost Town USA should visit. The door to the past is wide open in Jerome. It is a fun, funky town with many unexpected surprises around every corner and along crumbling sidewalks lined with interesting old buildings, all perched on the side of a steep hill. This town is a true, living museum.

Even its website proclaims Jerome to be the “Largest Ghost Town in America.” SO, who am I to dispute that?

· SE¼ Sec 22, SW¼ Sec 23, T16N, R2E, Gila & Salt River Meridian

· Latitude: 34.7516884 / 34° 45' 06" N

· Longitude: -112.1162717 / 112° 06' 59" W

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for July/August1999.

Coupled with a visit on November 23, 2009 this Jerome page underwent a major revision and numerous photos were added. It was then reposted as the GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for Dec 2009.

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FIRST POSTED: July 01, 1999

LAST UPDATED: January 04, 2010

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