A Weekend in Jerome

Why do I always fall in love with lazy little art towns that are crawling up steep mountains?

First, I fell for Eureka Springs, Arkansas. And now....Jerome, Arizona. Just: lovely. I realize that I overuse the word "lovely", but what more should I say? It's simple and perfect, just like Jerome.

It was raining a bit on our way out of Flagstaff, but I think we're all actually embracing the rain these days. Not because high temperatures of 85 degrees are anything to complain about, I guess sometimes it's just nice to get a little rain in your hair.

Before I get into what we did and saw there, I should admit that I didn't really have any knowledge of Jerome or it's history before we went there. I think I would've enjoyed our visit even more if I would have done some prerequisite research. Presearch, if you will. Going forward, I'll try to remember that a quick visit with my wise little friend the Internet should precede any road trip.

In this case, I actually hit Wikipedia after we got home. (Note: I've been driving myself bonkers trying to figure out the proper (MLA) way to insert a Wikipedia excerpt into my blog post, and I just aint havin' no luck wit dat. Ha! So, just know that I tried to do it the right way :))

Here's what Wikipedia had to say about Jerome:

A mining town named Jerome was established on the side of Cleopatra Hill in 1883. It was named for Eugene Murray Jerome, a New York investor who owned the mineral rights and financed mining there. Eugene Jerome never visited his namesake town. The town housed the workers in the nearby United Verde Mine, which was to produce over 1 billion dollars in copper, gold and silver over the next 70 years.

Jerome became a notorious "wild west" town, a hotbed of prostitution, gambling, and vice. On 5 February 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West".

In 1915 the population of Jerome was estimated at 2,500. 

Jerome had three major fires between 1897 and 1899, burning out much of the town. One of the mine fires continued to burn for twenty years. This prompted the phasing out of underground mining in favor of open pit mining at the United Verde. Blasting in the mines frequently shook the town, sometimes damaging or moving buildings; after one blast in the 1930s the city jail slid one block down hill intact. Lawsuits were frequent, but the mining companies usually won.

By 1929 Jerome's population was over 15,000. Arizona had become the nation's leading copper-producer.

The United Verde and Jerome prospered in the war years, but the end was now in sight. In 1953 the last of Jerome's mines closed, and much of the population left town. Jerome's population reached a low point of about 50 people in the late 1950s.

In 1967 Jerome was designated a Historic District, and a National Historic Landmark in 1976, known as Jerome Historic District. 

Today Jerome is a tourist destination, with many abandoned and refurbished buildings from its boom town days. Jerome has a large mining museum, presenting the town history, labor-management disputes, geological structure models, mineral samples, and equipment used in both underground and open-pit mining. The National Historic Landmark designation has assured architectural preservation in this town, a mile high on the side of Mingus Mountain.

There are numerous bed and breakfasts in Jerome and two hotels, The Connor Hotel and The Grand Hotel. Restaurants range from hamburgers to fine dining. The two local bars, one of them Arizona's oldest family owned bar, both regularly have live music on weekends.

The community spirit in this town of 400 has created a vibrant group of events from its Halloweeen Dance to the Jerome Home Tour in May. This is the oldest yearly Home Tour in the state of Arizona.

Jerome is known as an art destination, with more than 30 galleries and working studios. First Saturday Art Walk began in 2006, and has become a popular monthly event. In 2007, Jerome became a sponsor of The Sedona Plein Air Festival, and hosted some of the best-known plein air painters in the country. The Old Jerome High School is home to many artists and their open studios. Artists and craftspeople display their work in an open-air art park in nice weather.

Jerome is referenced in the Barenaked Ladies latest record, All In Good Time. It is the title of Track 9 with references to Mingus Mountain, from which Jerome can be seen.

According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 353.

"Jerome, Arizona." Wikipedia. 2010. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. August 19, 2000 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome,_Arizona>
If you'd like to read the entire Wikipedia article, click on the url in the citation above or, just click here.


So now that you know more about this small town with a big history, I hope you enjoy the following pics from our weekend :)

 If only loading your VW bus got as much respect from the city official in charge of signage...

It is good bread. But you're not getting any! We're closed!

Hope someone doesn't mind :) I was leaning with LOVE! Cool bus.

The sun setting on the homes and hillsides was an incredible sight.

A Bordello Pizzeria? How Keith walked by this one I'll never know... 

Mmm....the Haunted Hamburger. I wonder if "Ghost Beef" is on the menu?

The iPhone doesn't have a flash, so this was the last picture of the night.

Look closely...it's Keith riding a tiny toy horse. Adorbs.

That night, we camped on Mingus Mountain, which can be reached by basically taking the main road through Jerome all the way to the top. I actually had a terrible migraine that night, so I was lying down in the back of the bus as we were driving up there to camp. Keith and Greg said they could barely see past the headlights due to the thick fog that had set. 

The next morning, I was the first one to wake up. I got up, let the dogs out and stepped out into a total still. No wind, no animals chirping. Just complete, utter still and silence, and a light, cool and crisp morning air.

  And apparently, the thick fog from the night before. 

Awesome.

About 50 feet from our campsite was the edge of the mountain, which was more like a cliff. Greg was really glad that I woke him up to see what he described as, "the end of the world". Imagine walking out onto a rock and seeing nothing but fog. It was very Lord of the Rings-y.

I know, I look hot in the morning. But look at that fog!

In the moment I was taking this picture, I remember thinking, "I hope Willie doesn't think she sees a tennis ball or a squirrel down there". 

I do wonder what that little dog head was thinking about looking over the edge into the fog. 

Probably tennis balls and squirrels.

Willie also found an interesting little fungus that looked like a bunch of cheese balls. 

She knows that her daddy loves some cheese balls.

The fog finally lifted off. Shortly thereafter, so did we! 

Very cool place to camp, we'll be back.

YEAH! :) 

But seriously people, yeah.

:)
Berls