Come visit - Jerome, AZ with us...

Jerome Arizona was once called the "Wickedest town in the west" by the New York Sun.   Violent death in the mines, and at the wrong end of knives and guns helped the town earn its reputation.  Jerome sits on the steep slope of Cleopatra Hill on the side of Mingus Mountain.

From 1898 to 1929 Jerome was the third largest city in Arizona. It was a billion dollar mining town producing copper, gold, silver and other valuable ores.

At it's height - the population of Jerome was over 15,000 - at it's lowest point in the early 50's the population was only 50 people.  Today it's still a small town with only about 300 people living here - but thousands visit this thriving little artists' town to enjoy it's charm and history.

On almost every street you can see the remnants of parts of buildings that once stood there.

Some 'partial' buildings remain as part of current businesses as this Glass Blowing Studio which uses the front wall of a former building as it's facade.

We can only imagine the stories that this old car remembers.

When you come to visit Jerome you must drop by the Jerome State Historic Park and visit the Douglas Mansion.  James Douglas built this eye-catching landmark just above the Little Daisy Mine in 1916.

The former home is now a museum devoted to the history of Jerome and the Douglas family and the mine.

On display are photographs, artifacts and former belongings of the period.

This is just a partial list of the reasons that many people at that time did not survive beyond their early 40's.

This enormous Azurite and Malachite is just a sample of the ores that were mined here.

You can double click on many of the photos to read these signs and see the photos closer if you want.  We visited the site of the original Little Daizy Mine

This is the largest wooden headframe still standing in AZ

This is the 'elevator' that the miners would pile into and be lowered by the headframe down into the mine shaft some 100 ft underground.

There is a plexiglass floor near the elevator where we could look down into the mine shaft - double click on this for a real scarry look at what miners saw as they were lowered in that elevator.

After all 6 of us piled into the elevator we got a feel for what it must be like to be crammed into that small space for a long dark ride into the mine.

Just above the mine we could see what used to be a beautiful big hotel during those booming times - now this is a private residence (pretty big for a home).

Also currently a home, this used to be the Mexican Church built from Dynamite boxes and barrels. 

After the mine tour we decided to visit the Grand Hotel of Jerome - here it sits against the side of the mountain.

We drove through town and up the hill to the hotel for lunch.

We boarded the old creeky elevator to the 3rd floor to the restaurant.

Yes the name of the restaurant is 'The Asylum'  fits well with the look and feel of the hotel.

We found a good friend at the Asylum - just a little shy.

After Lunch we decided to roam around Jerome.... In the early 1900s the Police had a lot of work in Jerome....The town had quite the reputation with Saloons, gambling halls, and houses of 'Joy'.  All flourished along with the copper mining.

This 2-story House of Joy was among the busier ones in town and as a 'gift shop' and historic landmark houses many of the artifacts of those times - some for sale and some for viewing.

A close up of the sign....

Today, Jennie's Place is a Pizzeria

This is a Historic  Plaque written about Jennie's Place and it's history - double click to read all about it.

Nellie Bly also had a 'Joy House' here in Jerome - but now it's a gift shop.

These great Historic Plaques are all around town and gave us fascinating information about many of the historic buildings and in this case the "Husband's Alley" - In 1913 when the 'reformers' tried to outlaw the houses of joy the alleys were walkways and passageways to the 'cribs' where the girls were waiting for their clients. 

Another of our favorite places for lunch here in Jerome is the 'Haunted Hamburger'.  They say ghosts have been spotted here - our friend Linda took a photo here once and had a 'ghost' image show up on her photo.... who knows?...

View from the terrace at the Haunted Hamburger with a glass of Pinot Grigio.

After lunch we decided to spend the afternoon checking out all the great shops & interesting buildings here in Jerome.

These 3 buildings formerly housing for miners are now gift shops and cafes.

As you can see by this sign Jerome takes it's ghosts seriously.

If you look close you may be able to see my reflection in the door of this tattoo shop.

Pura Vida is one of our favorite shops here in Jerome - I got a great pair of earrings here today.

This beautiful garden sculpture was very beautiful.... you can see several reflections of me with the camera in these globes.

BBQ Ribs is a very popular dish here in the southwest.

And of course we couldn't pass by a Wine cellar without stopping.

The Connor Hotel is still a functioning hotel here in Jerome.

This gift shop is named after the hill the town is built upon.

And this gift shop was named after the ore that made the town famous - copper.

Another of our favorite restaurants - Grapes is owned by the same person who owns two of our favorite restaurants in Old Town Cottonwood.

The Jerome Artists Co-op Gallery is a must see gift shop - with jewelry, fiber arts, Paintings, sculptures, wood workings and more from all the very talented artists in and around Jerome.

The Jerome Historical Soc. Mine Museum will give you lots of great info on the history of Jerome.

The Liberty Theatre opened in 1918 and has great original movie cameras and theater artifacts as well as posters of some original movies shown here.

Here are more gift shops - Lola's for clothing

Made in Jerome for beautiful pottery.

And we always are looking for interesting and different holiday ornaments - you'll find them here.

And for the kid in you or for a kid you know ... toys...

You can go out to eat here for a month and never hit the same restaurant twice... Quince is a great Mexican cantina.

And as far as Cheryl is concerned - you can never pass by a candy shop...

Mention ''Spookhall" to anyone in Jerome and they know it's the place to go for gatherings.

And our favorite sight on the way out of town are these wonderful - fun - and silly  Pink Flamingos looking out over the Verde Valley...