Jerome History
Jerome is perched high on the side of the mountains bordering the southwest edge of the Verde Valley over rich ore deposits.
These deposits were first used by the Native-Americans and observed in 1583 and 1598 by Spanish explorers. In 1876 mining claims and a mill were located near the present site of the Town of Jerome. These claims organized by Arizona Territorial Governor Frederic Trittle were purchased in 1882 by the United Verde Company. This camp was named Jerome in 1883 after Eugene Jerome, a major financier of the United Verde Copper Company.
A small blast furnace was hauled in by wagon and copper was produced in 1883 and 1884. The unprofitable company was purchased in 1883 by Senator William Clark of Montana.
In 1885 Clark constructed a narrow gauge railroad, the United Verde and Pacific Railway from Jerome to Jerome Junction (Chino Valley), in efforts to ship ore out for processing. He also expanded the smelter making the United Verde Copper Company a very profitable enterprise. But fires deep in the mines necessitated the beginning of open pit mining. The Jerome Smelter, which sat over the mines, was replaced by a smelter in the new town of Clarkdale in 1915.
The Verde Valley Railroad, from Drake to Clarkdale, replaced the old narrow gauge line. The strike in 1915 of a rich copper vein, by the United Verde Extension, owned by James Douglas, added to the town’s prosperity. The mines were once earning a million dollars a month making Jerome the “Billion Dollar Mining Camp”
Jerome’s population grew to almost 15,000 before it began to decline. Although it survived numerous fires in the early 1900s, the buildings you see in Jerome today are the same buildings that existed when the town was in its heyday. Walking down Main Street is like taking a step back in time. Remnants of the “red light district”, Company Hill, old hotels and saloons, still exist.
Today the population of Jerome is close to 500. When the mines shut down in the 1950s, the population shrank as low as 200. Buildings were boarded up and the town thus received its name, Ghost Town. By the 1960s to 70s hippies began to discover Jerome as a cheap place to live where they could get away from it all. Buying up homes for pennies, Jerome began to come alive again. These hippies were also craftsmen and women, artists and musicians. Opening up galleries and selling their wares, this counter-culture group of settlers began to attract tourists to the sleepy little mining town. By the 1990s Jerome became known as a destination spot. Today the town is visited by over half a million tourists a year.
To receive more detailed information on Jerome’s rich history, join the Historical Society now and receive the Jerome Chronicle, a quarterly 7-page newsletter. Each newsletter has a different theme and includes numerous photos. Or look in our Book Store where we sell as well as publish books on Jerome’s history.