Some Day is Here: Ghost Towns in Arizona...Jerome and Haynes/Gold King Mine

The Creans took us exploring Ghost Towns today. We first went to Jerome, Arizona which got its name from the NY investor, Eugene Murray Jerome.. It is an historic copper mining ghost town located in the black hills of Arizona. It was built in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking Verde Valley.

Header Hotel

Its population boomed to 15,000 and in 2010 census counted just over 400 people residing in Jerome. It was said in the New York Sun on January 5, 1903 that Jerome, Arizona was "the wickedest town in the west" because it was full of vices such as prostitution, opium drug usage and gunfights. People died in mining accidents, gunfights, opium over dosage and a number of other unnatural events such as fires and unstable geology. Some say that Jerome's sinful ways finally got the attention of higher ups. They attributed the fires in town to divine retribution. Regardless of the cause of several fires, by incorporating, the citizens of Jerome were able to adopt a strict building code and establish a fire department. A subsidence problem irreparably damaged at least ten downtown buildings and by 1928 worsened through the 1930s dozens of buildings including the Post Office and Jail were lost as the earth beneath them sank away. Causes were thought to possibly be a combination of 1. geologic faulting 2. blast vibrations from the mines and 3. erosion.
When WWI came, the price of copper soared and the number of men needed to get the copper out of the mountain increased. But, the good times for Jerome ended when the high grade ore became more scarce and harder to dig out of the mountain. The price of copper fell and in 1929, the Great Depression began.
With all of these events causing loss of people, it is no surprise that the city is filled with wandering spirits. Jerome is Arizona's most famous ghost town. One of the most famous stories is about Madame Jennie Banters. In the early 1900s the Mile High Inn was home to the wealthiest madams in all of Arizona. .She and her ladies used this space till they were forced to move their entertainment from Main Street to what is now known as the infamous "Husband's Alley". The building is considered "fire proof" constructed of 18-inch thick concrete walls. The building is now Mile High Inn with 8 guest rooms, a kitchen and restaurant and a large parlor. The apparition of Madam Jennie Banters made her presence known after the building was renovated and turned into the Inn at Jerome. She spends most of her time in the "Lariat and Lace" room. She has been known to rearrange furniture, move knick -knacks around, play with ceiling fans and likes to turn on the radio when the maid is tidying up the rooms.

a beautiful view from Jerome of Verde Valley.

Jerome's modern history began in 1876 when three prospectors staked claims on rich copper deposits.

They sold out to a group which formed the Verde Valley Copper Company in 1883. The resultant mining camp of board and canvas shacks was named in honor of Eugene Jerome , the venture's principal backer. Hopes for the enterprise ran high, but the costs of operating, especially for transportation, outstripped profits and the company folded in less than two years. It took the vision and vast financial resources of a new owner, William A. Clark, to bring in a narrow gauge railroad

and reduce freight costs. By the early 20th century, the United Verde was the largest producing copper mine in the Arizona Territory. Jerome was becoming a frame and brick town, and could boast

of two churches, an opera house, a school, a hospital and several civic buildings. Its Post Office was established in 1883 and is still operating today. Jerome still has a mayor and town council.

In 1912,, James S. Douglas purchased and began development of the little Daisy mine. By 1916,

Jerome had two bonanza mines. Copper production peaked in 1929, but the Depression and low grade ore deposits reversed the fortunes of the town. The Little Daisy shut down in 1938, Phelps Dodge took over the United Verde in 1935, but loss of profits brought the operation and Jerome's mining days to an end in 1953. The Douglas Mansion has been a landmark in Jerome since 1916, when James S. Douglas built it on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. Douglas designed the house as a hotel for mining officials and investors as well as for his own family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marble shower, steam heat and much ahead of its time, a central vacuum system. Douglas was most proud of the fact that the house was constructed of adobe bricks that were made on the site. it is thought to be the largest adobe structure in the country It was designed by Phoenix architects to be 8,700 square feet and cost $150,000 to build. Here are some beautiful views from the mansion.

We then went drove through Jerome to Gold king Mine. This was a mixture of antiques and 'junk'. we saw chickens wandering around, goats and a donkey. We did not miss the 1914 saw mill operating. This is a private attraction, owned by Don Robertson. It was originally Haynes, Arizona and sits about one mile north of Jerome. In 1890, Haynes was a bustling suburb of Jerome. The Haynes Copper Company dug a 1200 foot shaft in search of copper, but hit gold instead.

a private residence

Then we rode by the Tuzigoot National Monument preserves a 2-3 story pueblo ruin on a summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge. The Tuzigoot site is an elongated complex of stone masonry rooms that were built along the spine of a natural outcrop in the Verde Valley. The central rooms stand higher than the others and they appear to have served public functions. The pueblo has 110 rooms.