me. We have been looking at all the tourist literature and on line for ghost towns here in Central Arizona. There were many old mining to
wns that went bust after the mines gave up all there ore. Unfortunately, with most of them there is not much left more than a few foundations from the buildings that were there. The closest we could come to seeing a ghost town was the town of Jerome. It is a town that was built around a copper mine about 100 miles north of Phoenix. (Since we are parked well west of Phoenix it turned out to be over 150 mile drive.) Jerome first star
ted to grow from a tent city to a prosperous mining town in the 1870's. It was the talk of the territory. Not gold but copper was the ore in this part of Arizona. The mines were nourished and exploited by financiers who brought a billion dollars worth of copper from its depths. Dependent on the ups and downs of copper prices, labor unrest, depressions and wars, Jerome's mines finally closed in 1953. With a population of 15,000 in the 1920's the down dwindled to about 50 in the late 1950's.
ted to grow from a tent city to a prosperous mining town in the 1870's. It was the talk of the territory. Not gold but copper was the ore in this part of Arizona. The mines were nourished and exploited by financiers who brought a billion dollars worth of copper from its depths. Dependent on the ups and downs of copper prices, labor unrest, depressions and wars, Jerome's mines finally closed in 1953. With a population of 15,000 in the 1920's the down dwindled to about 50 in the late 1950's.The 1960's and 1970's were the time of the counter culture and Jerome offered a h
aven for artists who renovated homes and opened abandoned shops to sell their wares. The Jerome Historical Society has guarded the buildings against vandalims and the elements. The Douglas Mansion, a huge place on a hill overlooking the pit mines, has been converted to a state park and the entire town has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Today Jerome is very alive with writers, artists, artisans, musicians, historians and families.
aven for artists who renovated homes and opened abandoned shops to sell their wares. The Jerome Historical Society has guarded the buildings against vandalims and the elements. The Douglas Mansion, a huge place on a hill overlooking the pit mines, has been converted to a state park and the entire town has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Today Jerome is very alive with writers, artists, artisans, musicians, historians and families.Our day s
tarted as we rolled out of the RV Park around 8:00am. Into Phoenix and then up Interstate 17. This trip took us about three hours to get there. A large part of this trip was up into the mountains to over 5,000 feet. Once we turned off the interstate we moved onto a winding road that had several switchback to get us up to the town. We spent about three hours there checking out the galleries and shops and had lunch in a little wine bar called Grapes. All their entrees are cooked with wine including their hamburgers. One of the little shops was called House of Joy. The name was given to the place by then Senator Barry Goldwater when he told the owners that the building had been used as a brothel during the Jerome heyday.
tarted as we rolled out of the RV Park around 8:00am. Into Phoenix and then up Interstate 17. This trip took us about three hours to get there. A large part of this trip was up into the mountains to over 5,000 feet. Once we turned off the interstate we moved onto a winding road that had several switchback to get us up to the town. We spent about three hours there checking out the galleries and shops and had lunch in a little wine bar called Grapes. All their entrees are cooked with wine including their hamburgers. One of the little shops was called House of Joy. The name was given to the place by then Senator Barry Goldwater when he told the owners that the building had been used as a brothel during the Jerome heyday.We returned to the coach around 6:00pm, after another three hours in the car. There is more to see in the Jerome area so we will probably plan to find a RV Park in the area and plan to spend a few days there when we are back out this way in October.
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