Jerome, Arizona

About 45 minutes from Sedona, Arizona is a historically successful mining town, Jerome, Arizona. Today, the mine is no longer in operation and Jerome is most popular for its tourism and ghost tours. Jerome’s preserved history makes for an interesting visit.

Before I visited Jerome I found out my great-grandparents once lived & met in Jerome. Although I never met them, this made visiting the town a bit more personal. My great-grandpa worked for the mines & great-grandma played the organ at the theater.

About Jerome:
Miner’s work was challenging, dangerous, dirty and the town’s Main Street was full of saloons and brothels. Today the old saloons and brothels have been turned into gift shops.

One of my favorite shops was the old Auto Shop. It had an old car inside, old service reports, and other things buy and see on display:

We continued walking through the town and spotted a 1928 Springfield Rolls-Royce Phantom I through a window:

The town theater, Liberty Theater, is where my great-grandma played the organ during the silent movie era. You can still walk through the theater and see old movie equipment & film on display.

When my great-grandpa met my great-grandma, he would walk to the theater after work, sit with her as she played, and walk her home after her shift.

As I walked through Jerome, I saw shuttle bus signs. I called the number on the sign and the driver answered right away. After he asked which stop I was waiting at he responded, “I think I see you, look to your right!” There was a white van driving by and out of the driver’s window, the man yelled “I have to take a family down the street, I’ll be back to pick you up in 5 minutes!” A few minutes later, he showed up accompanied by a few other families who were also taking the shuttle.

I got on the shuttle and asked the driver to take me to the mine museum. On our drive, he passionately shared stories about Jerome. He wrote some of the ghost tour scripts and seemed to casually spark conversations with people as we drove through the town with the windows down. Jerome is a small town now, with a population of about 500, and it seemed like everyone knew the shuttle driver. He was full of excitement for Jerome and passionately shared stories.

The outdoor museum was filled with old buildings, an old dentist shop, a laundry house, cars, machines, and equipment. In the middle of the museum was a mine shaft, with a handwritten sign: “The actual gold mine 1270 feet deep – closed in 1914.” A blacksmith on site mentioned that 1270 feet is about as tall as the Empire State Building. When we finished our museum visit, we called the shuttle driver who took us back into town for lunch.

Lunch recommendation: Clinksdale. I had a delicious grilled cheese & salad.
I had been traveling for a month prior to Jerome and the Clinksdale restaurant was one of my favorite meals during my traveling.

While visiting I learned of the book, Empty Mansions. It’s a true story based on the fortune William Clark (mine entrepreneur) made from the mine. When he died, his inheritance was traced to his daughter Huguette who partially lived in one of the mansions. The book mentions his fortune could be more than Rockefeller’s and that William Clark may have been the richest man at that time. Empty Mansions is an interesting read, mysterious, well-researched, and written.

The Empire State Building in NYC is approximately as tall as the mine shaft is deep in Jerome, Arizona. I was in New York slightly after visiting Jerome, and just so happened to walk by the building on my way to my place: