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So, who, what or where is Jerome?

The who part is kind of interesting. Western Mining History says “The town was named after Eugene Jerome, a wealthy financier and officer of the United Verde Copper Company. Eugene was a cousin of Jennie Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill. Mr. Jerome never did see his namesake town.” He probably never met Winston Churchill either.

For the what and where, here’s some information from the folks at Wikipedia: “Jerome is a town in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome is located more than 5,000 feet above sea level.” As you can see in the photo below from visitarizona.com, in the case of Jerome, “on the hill” means on the side of a very steep hill. In fact, in the 1930s, nearby dynamite explosions caused the jail to leave its foundation and move 200 feet lower down the hillside. Other structures have had similar fates.

As with many towns in this part of the country, Jerome was born in a mining boom that started when Cleopatra Hill was found to be rich in high-grade copper ore. It grew when demand for copper grew during World War I and eventually had a population of 15,000 in the 1920s. The mines were owned by the United Verde Copper Company, where the wealthy financier Mr. Jerome was an officer. The town shrank over the years and, when the mines shut down in 1953, people moved on leaving only about 50 residents. Those residents started to market the town to tourists as the World’s Largest Ghost City. In 1967, Jerome was designated a National Historic Landmark and, with a current population of about 450, remains a popular tourist attraction today.

According to Western Mining History, “During the 1960s Jerome experienced a counterculture renaissance, a polite way of saying hippies moved in. They snapped up real estate on the cheap, opened shops, restaurants, art galleries and most importantly, injected Jerome with the relaxed, carefree vibe that’s still prevalent. Residents proudly claim the town operates on Mountain ‘Stranded’ Time.” So, with visions of the ’60s dancing in my head, we drove up the highway to check out Jerome. What highway? Arizona State Route 89A. As we drove into town I could definitely believe the story of the moving jail. When we found a large, relatively flat public parking area, I decided that I would rather park there than try to parallel park on a steep city street.

(Click on any photo to enlarge, then use arrows to scroll through the images.)

Jerome was known as “The Wickedest Town in the West” during its heyday when rich copper ore deposits attracted miners, merchants, madams and more to the area. Although many old mining towns were abandoned when the mines that were their lifeblood shut down, Jerome survived and now welcomes visitors looking to try some Verdi Valley wines and check out the galleries of photography, fine art, and jewelry. Maybe they’ll even buy a tee shirt or two. We were there rather early in the morning, however, so many places were not yet open.

We wandered up and down the streets exploring the town. In some of the steeper areas, stairways were provided to get to the next higher street. It was interesting to see, purely for historical reasons, of course, that there’s still a Bordello in town. On Main Street you can find Belgian Jennie’s Bordello Bistro and Pizza. Unlike the original business, the modern version serves nothing more exotic than pizza.

In addition to street scenes and old buildings, it’s always fun to wander around, camera in hand, and photograph the little things like signs or store fronts. There weren’t many people around but a friendly local cat welcomed us as we strolled past and I spotted a woman on a second story porch either hanging out laundry or displaying her for-sale inventory. There was no lack of color in this town. You’d be hard pressed to find a white shirt. Prob’ly ’cause of them hippies!

Since Jerome was just a short morning rest stop, we soon walked back to the parking lot and continued on our way down Arizona State Route 89A.

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P.S. — I thought you might like to know that The Bare Naked Ladies recorded a song named “Jerome.” What made a bunch of Canadians come up with this tune? I have no idea. When you hear lyrics like this, however, it sure sounds like they were there.

Bar brawlers and drifters
Gamblers and gun fighters
Ladies of the evening
And copper miners
They kept the jail house filled
‘Til it fell down the hill

I don’t think it’s as good as their song “Brian Wilson” or their theme song to “The Big Bang Theory,” but, if your curious, you can hear it on YouTube.