jerome by Élan Magazine

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“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.“ Jerome Where the Free Spirit Lingers

– Karen Ravn

24 | Intimate Spaces of the Southwest 29 | ‘Let’s Keep Dancing’ 35

JEROME PAGE NO

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Where the Free Spirit Lingers WRITTEN BY Darci Hansen | PHOTOS BY Terrie Marcoe

The 1980’s college life in Northern Arizona combined the reprise of preppy and the longevity of hippy, creating an industrious adventuresome generation of young adults. Although Flagstaff was the epicenter of livelihood and higher education, the outlying towns, historical landmarks, and the vast surrounding wilderness provided a variety of retreats when it was time to escape. One location in particular connected with my soul - when it beckoned I obliged. Perched upon Cleopatra Hill some 2,000 feet above the Verde Valley floor and looking out onto the grand vistas of Sedona’s red rock country is the historical town of Jerome, Arizona. There is nothing else like it. The drive alone inspired my recent visit. Many of those who have discovered this old copper mining town know it’s the climb that brings one back. The narrow switchback road is part of the allure that leads to the streets where historical buildings ooze mystical ambiance amid Jerome’s steep terrain. What’s striking at first view is the vibrant remains of century-old establishments. The crumbling brick shells, authentic wooden doors, cracked porticos, steep and narrow stairways, and the remnants of the old jail that slid 200 feet down the mountainside, all generate an appreciation for this chronicled community. The Mining

rehistoric Native Americans were the first miners, seeking colored stones. The Spanish followed, seeking gold but finding copper. The first claim for copper by Anglos was staked in 1876. The United Verde Copper Company was formed in 1883 and the Little Daisy claim was filed in 1900. The commitment to mining in Jerome was profound. The labor involved was intense but the payoff was huge. By the early 1900s, United Verde would become the richest privately owned copper mine in the Arizona Territory, producing an estimated $29 million of ore in one year. World War I saw the price of copper soar, then drop to unprofitable lows. In 1929, when the stock market collapsed and the Great Depression set in, the price of copper plummeted to a nickel per pound and mining it was hardly worth the trouble. The mines closed and 5,000 residents were left to struggle through the painful ‘30s. After the Little Daisy shut down in 1938, World War II literally became the silver lining to Jerome’s fading copper legacy. Phelps-Dodge purchased United Verde when the demand for copper soared. Whether for ships, shells, communications or power equipment, copper truly proved to reigned supreme. Jerome’s last blast eventually played out in the 1950s and the smelters were dismantled. Phelps-Dodge miners were transferred to other mines but not before the company netted over $40 million for its efforts. It was then that Jerome began to hear the hush in the streets. Research suggests that there remains approximately 90 miles of tunnels beneath the town of Jerome, some reaching down nearly a mile. When all was said and done, Jerome’s miners extracted 2.5 billion pounds of copper, 50 million ounces of silver and around 1 million pounds of gold - impressive by any standards. By the time the mine shut down in 1953, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of copper had been extracted. T R AV E L 2 0 1 1

Left: Jerome’s streetlight - they don’t make ‘em like they used to. Top: The backside remaining wall of a building that has been long gone. Bottom: The Hotel Connor

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Plaque for Husband’s Alley, so named after prostitution was made illegal in the downtown along Main Street.

The Town

The mines, the workers, and those who sought its wealth formed Jerome’s colorful history. Americans, Mexicans, Croatians, Irish, Spaniards, Italians, and Chinese made the mining camp a cosmopolitan mix that added diversity to its rich life. Right from the beginning Jerome was a wild town with minimal law enforcement earning its title “The Wickedest Town in America.” Jerome’s reputation for mayhem only grew after its incorporation in 1898. The mad frenzy sparked by copper fever produced an influx of canvas tents. Saloons and restaurants were quickly erected, and, oh yes, brothels - plural; some of the liveliest in the West. It is said that maybe the town needed a moral cleansing. Whether that is the case or not, Jerome went up in flames - three times between 1897 and 1900.

song and strummed a tune on the guitar while their children ran as far as their imagination would carry them. A trip to Jerome meant I could leave my shoes at home and set my spirit free. Jerome delivered a day of dancing along the sidewalk to the music that seeped through the walls of the saloons and floated through the air from the park. Jerome in the early ‘80s felt like it was stuck in the 60s - and I liked it. During my recent visit to Jerome I realized that the faces looked familiar, just a bit older. I still could buy homemade fudge and a vegan sandwich. There is more art and less children; more visitors and less parking spaces. What remains is the strong sense of community and joyful spirits ... spirits who once labored in the mines and converted this hillside into the place they called Jerome.

It was during the 1920s that Jerome actually reached its peak. The population of the small hillside town grew to 15,000 people. The mines operated 24 hours a day, which meant the businesses of Jerome were also open around the clock. Bootleggers provided the town with all of the illegal alcohol it could consume. Prostitution and gambling flourished. Even opium dens were as numerous as laundries and run by the same Chinese owners. Jerome offered all of the virtues and vices of a classic Wild West boomtown.

The Town After Mining

Once the mines were closed in 1953, the resident population dwindled to as low as only 50. In the winter of 1967 a group of young adults, approximately 40 of them, arrived in Jerome. They were coming out of The Haight post San Francisco’s ‘Summer of Love’ and, over time, proved to establish themselves with the remaining residents. The organic lifestyle created during this time strengthened the sense of community in this once-thriving mining town. Buildings were refurbished and filled with fine art, old homes were remodeled and converted to inns, and restaurants and saloons once again lined Main Street. It was in the early ‘80s that I “discovered” Jerome, although the town itself remained authentic to its 1960s revisions. There was a fusion of music and art that was uninhibited. I would walk along the streets and chat with the residents who appeared to live life from their front porch. There they created a new piece of art or wrote a

Historical block and remains of the mine offices and bank building.

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To Visit is an Experience...To Stay is a Step Back in Time A Look at Jerome’s Historical Hotels and Inns The Jerome Grand Hotel www.jeromegrandhotel.com 888.817.6788 Originally built in 1926, as the United Verde Hospital, it was possibly the most modern hospital in the Western States. The Hospital was closed in 1950 as the mine operation was being phased out. The building stood unused for the next 44 years until the rehabilitation plans started in 1994 creating the Jerome Grand Hotel. The Otis elevator located in the Jerome Grand Hotel was installed in October 1926. It is fully operational and provides service to all five levels of the Hotel and is the oldest original “self service” elevator in Arizona. It has been out of order for a total of 4 hours and 15 minutes in the past 10 years, far exceeding the dependability of most modern elevators. The Ghost City Inn www.ghostcityinn.com 888.634.4678 541 Main Street in Jerome has seen many uses. Originally built around 1890 the home has served most of its life as a boarding house for lodging middle mine management. However, this Jerome building also served once as an ashram as well as a restaurant. It was later to become known as “The Garcia House” for a family that owned it for over fifty years. The building went through a major restoration project in 1994 and today is one of the more popular Bed & Breakfast’s in the area.

An old safe displayed in Jerome as art as well as an artifact.

The Surgeon’s House Bed & Breakfast www.surgeonshouse.com 800.639.1452 800.639.1452 The property on Hill Street was purchased in 1916 by United Verde Copper Company Company where they built a new hospital and a virtual mansion for their Head Physician to live in. In the early 1930’s the house became home of the then Chief Surgeon, Dr. Arthur Carlson, and his family. Parties were held to create a diversion for the Company’s upper echelon from the hard work in this mining town. After the closing of the mine in 1953, the house became home for the Company’s agent, and later, other Jerome community members including councilmen, mayors, merchants, geologists, policemen, even the local Jerome postmaster. The house fell into disrepair over the years, but has now been lovingly restored to its former beauty. The Connor Hotel www.connorhotel.com 800.523.3554 Built in 1898 by David Connor, the Connor Hotel of Jerome has a colorful past. Originally designed with 20 rooms upstairs, this first-class lodging establishment also offered a barroom, card rooms, and billiard tables on the first floor. Rooms were rented on the “European plan” for the princely sum of $1.00 per night. The Connor’s telephone number was 8. Before the turn of the century, David Connor’s hotel had burned to the ground twice, along with many other fine buildings in Jerome’s crowded downtown. Reopening in 1899, it was one of the earliest buildings in Jerome to be fully wired for electricity, with each room had a call bell for service. The Connor Hotel is noted in history as one of the finest lodging establishments in the booming mining towns of the West.

Photos provided by Terrie Marcoe of Happiegrrrl Climbing, www.happiegrrrlclimbing.blogspot.com and on Twitter @climbaddict. woman

For more information contact: Jerome Historical Society PO Box 156 407 Clark Street Jerome, AZ 86331 928.634.1066

Jerome Chamber of Commerce P. O. Box K Jerome, AZ 86331 928.634.2900