The hike to Cathedral Rock in Sedona (click here to see it - Sedona - Cathedral Rock hike) was great. Amazing scenery and nice weather... what else can you ask for? On our way back, we decided to take a longer route and see a small town of Jerome, which is about an hour from Sedona and occupies the slopes of the mountain and climbs up to the sky...
Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the
Verde Valley, Jerome is located more than 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above sea
level. Supported in its heyday by rich copper mines, it was home to
more than 10,000 people in the 1920s. As of the 2010 census, its
population was 444. It is now known for its tourist attractions, such as
its "ghost town" status and local wineries.
The town owes its
existence mainly to two ore bodies that formed about 1.75 billion years
ago along a ring fault in the caldera of an undersea volcano. Tectonic
plate movements, plate collisions, uplift, deposition, erosion, and
other geologic processes eventually exposed the tip of one of the ore
bodies and pushed the other close to the surface, both near Jerome. In
the late 19th century, the United Verde Mine, developed by William A.
Clark, extracted ore bearing copper, gold, silver, and other metals from
the larger of the two. The United Verde Extension UVX Mine, owned by
James Douglas Jr., depended on the other huge deposit. In total, the
copper deposits discovered in the vicinity of Jerome were among the
richest ever found.
Production at the mines, always subject to fluctuations, boomed during World War I, fell thereafter, rose again, then fell again during and after the Great Depression. As the ore deposits ran out, the mines closed for good in 1953, and the population dwindled to fewer than 100. Efforts to save the town from oblivion succeeded when residents turned to tourism and retail sales. Jerome became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. By the early 21st century, Jerome had art galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, a state park, and a local museum devoted to mining history.
Production at the mines, always subject to fluctuations, boomed during World War I, fell thereafter, rose again, then fell again during and after the Great Depression. As the ore deposits ran out, the mines closed for good in 1953, and the population dwindled to fewer than 100. Efforts to save the town from oblivion succeeded when residents turned to tourism and retail sales. Jerome became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. By the early 21st century, Jerome had art galleries, coffee houses, restaurants, a state park, and a local museum devoted to mining history.
Hard rock miners were spending a lot of money uptown between the
brothels and the bars and everything else, so the mine owner wanted to
keep his work force close. When it was built, the Little Daisy was the
last piece in what was basically a self-contained community for the
miners.
You got up in the morning, you got something to eat at the hotel, then you’d go subsurface for 12 hours, come out, take a shower. There was something warm for you to eat, then you hopped in a bed that was still warm from the guy that just got up to go on his shift. But when copper demand dropped, mine operators left town. And when they left, they stripped buildings of all they could: windows, doors, even the electrical wires and roofs.
Powder Box Church located in Jerome, Arizona gets its name from its
unique construction. The building was built by Sabino Gonzales in 1939
with stucco, wire mesh and blasting powder boxes. The congregation of
the church aided in the building. The church was completed during 1941.
The families of the Powder Box Church were Mexican American mining
families that were victims of racial prejudice from the Anglo
Methodists. The Methodists would not allow the Mexicans to enter their
church so Gonzalez built one from wooden blasting powder boxes that had
been disassembled.
The Jerome Grand Hotel was originally constructed in 1926 under the
name United Verde Hospital, owned by the United Verde Copper Company
(UVCC), later to become Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation. Some knew it as
the Phelps Dodge Hospital and United Verde Copper Hospital. It was the
4th and final hospital in Jerome. Opened in January 1927, the United
Verde Hospital was a state-of-the-art medical facility; in 1930, listed
as the most modern and well equipped hospital in Arizona and possibly in
all of the western states. The hospital, however, was closed in 1950,
as the mining operations began shutting down and medical services were
available in the neighboring community of Cottonwood, where many of the
staff transferred to. The building stood unused for the next 44 years.
Served
at some point
as a lunatic asylum and converted into a luxury hotel today...
At first glance the streets of the town look just like any old western town...
But if you look closely, you can find some real gems. Like this
baby Safeway. We were very curious if this one had anything to do with
the supermarket chain we know today.
Jerome had quite a reputation in its heyday... Known as one of the
wildest, wickedest mining towns in the West (saying something, huh?) it
had 24 saloons, 18 brothels, gambling establishments and an opium den.
Drinking, gambling, brawls and frolicking with ladies of the night
happened all the time and even now you can have lunch in the House of
Joy reminiscent of the old days...
Or walk up the street and turn the corner to enjoy dinner in the Bordello of Jerome...
...where you can find both food and booze ;)
Today the town’s population is about 500 residents, mainly
craftsmen, inn-keepers, restaurant owners, writers and musicians. Many
of the old buildings from the late 1890s still stand today and are
occupied by their owners, while some of the old structures are just
remains from the town’s early days.
There are several fine galleries, bed and breakfasts, restaurants,
bars and some very unique gift shops in town. The buildings have a lot
of charm and character and the town’s atmosphere is that of a bygone
era.
...and I guess I will never be able to drink wine without thinking about the death of innocent grapes after seeing this sign ;)
Wikipedia and multiple internet sites helped me with information about Jerome (so some of it may be inaccurate ;) ).
Pictures were taken on May 01, 2023.
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