Jerome, Arizona
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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 approximately Template:Convert north of Phoenix along State Route 89A between Sedona and Prescott. Supported in its heyday by rich copper mines, it was home to more than 10,000 people in the 1920s. As of the 2020 census, its population was 464.
The town owes its existence mainly to two ore bodies that formed about 1.75 billion years ago along a ring fault in the caldera of an undersea volcano. Tectonic plate movements, plate collisions, uplift, deposition, erosion, and other geologic processes eventually exposed the tip of one of the ore bodies and pushed the other close to the surface, both near Jerome. In the late 19th century, the United Verde Mine, developed by William A. Clark, extracted ore bearing copper, gold, silver, and other metals from the larger of the two. The United Verde Extension UVX Mine, owned by James Douglas Jr., depended on the other huge deposit. In total, the copper deposits discovered in Jerome's vicinity were among the richest ever found.
Jerome made news in 1917 when labor unrest involving the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) led to the expulsion at gunpoint of about 60 IWW members, who were loaded on a cattle car and shipped west. Production at the mines, always subject to fluctuations, boomed during World War I, fell thereafter, rose again, then fell again during and after the Great Depression. As the ore deposits ran out, the mines closed for good in 1953, and the population dwindled to fewer than 100. Efforts to save the town from oblivion succeeded when residents turned to tourism and retail sales. Jerome became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. By the early 21st century, it had art galleries, coffeehouses, restaurants, a state park, and a local museum devoted to mining history.
Geography
[edit]Jerome is about Template:Convert north of Phoenix and Template:Convert southwest of Flagstaff along Arizona State Route 89A between Sedona to the east and Prescott to the west.<ref name = "Rand">Template:Cite map</ref> The town is in Arizona's Black Hills, which trend north–south. The town lies within the Prescott National Forest<ref name="DeLorme">Template:Cite map</ref> at an elevation of more than Template:Convert.<ref name="gnis"/> Woodchute Wilderness is about Template:Convert west of Jerome,<ref name="DeLorme"/> and Mingus Mountain, at Template:Convert above sea level,<ref name="gnis Mingus">Template:Cite web</ref> is about Template:Convert south of town.<ref name="DeLorme"/> Jerome State Historic Park is in the town itself. Bitter Creek, a tributary of the Verde River, flows intermittently through Jerome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> East of Jerome at the base of the hills are the Verde Valley and the communities of Clarkdale and Cottonwood,<ref name="DeLorme"/> site of the nearest airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Geology
[edit]
Most of Cleopatra Hill, the rock formation upon which Jerome was built, is 1.75 billion years old.Template:Sfn Created by a massive caldera eruption in PrecambrianTemplate:Sfn—elsewhere more narrowly identified as Proterozoic<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>—seas south of what later became northern Arizona, the Cleopatra tuff was then part of a small tectonic plate that was moving toward the proto-North American continent.Template:Sfn After the eruption, cold sea water entered Earth's crust through cracks caused by the eruption. Heated by rising magma to Template:Convert or more, the water was forced upward again, chemically altering the rocks it encountered and becoming rich in dissolved minerals. When the hot solution emerged from a hydrothermal vent at the bottom of the ocean, its dissolved minerals solidified and fell to the sea floor. The accumulating sulfide deposits from two such vents formed the ore bodies, the United Verde and the UVX, most important to Jerome 1.75Template:Spacesbillion years later.Template:Sfn
These ore bodies formed in different places along a ring fault in the caldera. About 50Template:Spacesmillion years after they were deposited, the tectonic plate of which they were a part collided with another small plate and then with the proto-North American continent. The collisions, which welded the plates to the continent, folded the Cleopatra tuff in such a way that the two ore bodies ended up on opposite sides of a fold called the Jerome anticline.Template:Sfn
No record exists for the next 1.2Template:Spacesbillion years of Jerome's geologic history.Template:Sfn Evidence from the Grand Canyon, further north in Arizona, suggests that thick layers of sediment may have been laid down atop the ore bodies and later eroded away.Template:Sfn The gap in the rock record has been called the Great Unconformity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
About 525 million years ago, when northern Arizona was at the bottom of a shallow sea, a thin layer of sediment called the Tapeats Sandstone was deposited over the Cleopatra tuff. Limestones and other sediments accumulated above the sandstone until about 70Template:Spacesmillion years ago when the Laramide Orogeny created new mountains and new faults in the region. One of these faults, the Verde Fault, runs directly under Jerome along the Jerome anticline. Crustal stretching beginning about 15Template:Spacesmillion years ago created Basin and Range topography in central and southern Arizona, caused volcanic activity near Jerome, and induced movement along the Verde Fault. This movement exposed the tip of the United Verde ore body at one place on Cleopatra Hill and moved the UVX ore body to Template:Convert below the surface. Basalt, laid down between 15 and 10Template:Spacesmillion years ago, covers the surface beneath the UVX headframes and Jerome State Historic Park. The basalt, the top layer of the Hickey Formation,Template:Sfn caps layers of sedimentary rock.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The natural rock features in and around Jerome were greatly altered by mining. The town is underlain by Template:Convert of mine shafts. These may have contributed to the subsidence that destroyed some of Jerome's buildings, which slid slowly downhill during the first half of the 20th century. The United Verde open pit, about Template:Convert deep, is on the edge of town next to Cleopatra Hill. The side of the pit consists of Precambrian gabbro. Mine shafts beneath the pit extend to Template:Convert below the surface.Template:Sfn
Attempts to control erosion on Jerome's steep hillsides by planting Ailanthus altissima has caused new problems. This invasive species, commonly known as "tree of heaven" or "paradise tree", has roots that emit poisons that kill native trees and shrubs. The roots can damage sewer lines and septic tanks, and the tree can sprout through asphalt, sidewalks and into structures. In 2015, the Jerome Fire Department hosted workshops on how to control the trees, which are difficult to eradicate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
History
[edit]Early
[edit]The Hohokam were the first people known to have lived and farmed near Jerome from 700 to 1125 CE.<ref name="town history">Template:Cite web</ref> Later, long before the arrival of Europeans, it is likely that other native peoples mined the United Verde ore body for the colorful copper-bearing minerals malachite and azurite. The top of the ore body was accessible because it was visible on the surface.Template:Sfn
The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish conquistadors. At the time the area was part of "New Mexico", and the Spaniards often organized silver and gold prospecting expeditions in the area. In 1585, Spanish explorers made note of the oreTemplate:Sfn but did not mine it because their government had sent them to find gold and silver, not copper.<ref name="town history" />
19th century
[edit]The area became part of Mexico when Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and part of the United States by terms of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which concluded the Mexican–American War. The war's major consequence was the Mexican Cession of the northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México to the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Angus McKinnon and Morris A. Ruffner filed the first copper mining claims at this location in 1876.Template:Sfn In 1880, Frederick A. Tritle, the governor of the Arizona Territory, and Frederick F. Thomas, a mining engineer from San Francisco, bought these claims from the original owners. In 1883, with the aid of eastern financiers including James A. MacDonald and Eugene Jerome of New York City, they created the United Verde Copper Company. The small adjacent mining camp on Cleopatra Hill was named Jerome in honor of Eugene Jerome, who became the company secretary.Template:Efn United Verde built a small smelter at Jerome and constructed wagon roads from it to Prescott, the Verde Valley, and the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad depot at Ash Fork. However, transport by wagon was expensive, and in late 1884 after the price of copper had fallen by 50Template:Spacespercent, the company ceased all operations at the site.Template:Sfn
Four years later, William A. Clark, who had made a fortune in mining and commercial ventures in Montana, bought the United Verde properties and, among other improvements, enlarged the smelter.Template:Sfn He ordered construction of a narrow-gauge railway, the United Verde & Pacific, to Jerome Junction, a railway transfer point Template:Convert to the west.Template:Sfn As mining of the ore expanded, Jerome's population grew from 250 in 1890 to more than 2,500 by 1900. By then the United Verde Mine had become the leading copper producer in the Arizona Territory, employing about 800 men,Template:Sfn and was one of the largest mines in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over its 77-year life (1876 to 1953), this mine produced nearly 33Template:Spacesmillion tons of copper, gold, silver, lead and zinc ore.Template:Sfn The metals produced by United Verde and UVX, the other big mine in Jerome, were said to be worth more than $1Template:Spacesbillion.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn According to geologists Lon Abbott and Terri Cook, the combined copper deposits of Jerome were among the richest ever found.Template:Sfn
Jerome had a post office by 1883. It added a schoolhouse in 1884 and a public library in 1889. After four major fires between 1894 and 1898 destroyed much of the business district and half of the community's homes, Jerome was incorporated as a town in 1899.Template:Sfn Incorporation made it possible to collect taxes to build a formal fire-fighting system and to establish building codes that prohibited tents and other fire hazards within the town limits.Template:Sfn Local merchant and rancher William Munds was the first mayor.Template:Sfn
By 1900, Jerome had churches, fraternal organizations, and a downtown with brick buildings, telephone service, and electric lights.Template:Sfn Among the thriving businesses were those associated with alcohol, gambling, and prostitution serving a population that was 78Template:Spacespercent male.Template:Sfn In 1903, New York's The Sun proclaimed Jerome "the wickedest town in the West".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Mexican-American community
[edit]During Jerome’s copper boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town attracted a large number of Mexican and Mexican American workers who were recruited by the United Verde Copper Company (UVCC) to fill dangerous and physically demanding positions in the mines and smelters. These workers were often assigned the most hazardous jobs, such as ore hauling and smelting, for significantly lower wages than their white counterparts.<ref name="Gonzalez1980">Gonzalez, Mario R. Mexican Workers in the Arizona Copper Industry, 1900-1940. University of Arizona Press, 1980.</ref>
Due to segregation policies enforced by the mining companies and local authorities, Mexican workers and their families were forced to live in Mexican Town, a segregated neighborhood located on the lower slopes of Cleopatra Hill, near the smelters and away from the more affluent areas where white miners and company officials resided.<ref name="Ortiz2004">Ortiz, Leonard. Jerome and the Copper Camps of Arizona: A Cultural History. Arcadia Publishing, 2004.</ref> Mexican Town was characterized by small, poorly constructed homes, inadequate sanitation, and a lack of access to basic amenities.
Mexican children were also subjected to segregation in Jerome’s education system. They attended separate, inferior schools that were poorly funded and lacked resources. Teachers often had minimal training, and the curriculum was designed to provide only basic education, preparing Mexican children for low-skilled labor rather than higher education or professional careers.<ref name="Monroy1990">Monroy, Douglas. Rebirth: Mexican Los Angeles from the Great Migration to the Great Depression. University of California Press, 1990.</ref> In many cases, Mexican students were discouraged from speaking Spanish, and corporal punishment was sometimes used to enforce compliance with English-only policies.<ref name="Ruiz1998">Ruiz, Vicki L. From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. Oxford University Press, 1998.</ref> Despite these challenges, Mexican families emphasized the importance of education and community cohesion. Parents encouraged their children to attend school and maintain a connection to their heritage and language, ensuring that cultural traditions were preserved within the community.<ref name="Acuña1988">Acuña, Rodolfo. Occupied America: A History of Chicanos. HarperCollins, 1988.</ref>
Mexican workers endured harsh treatment both in and out of the workplace. They were given the most dangerous and least desirable jobs in the mines, such as smelting and ore hauling, and were paid significantly lower wages than their white counterparts.<ref name="Gonzalez1980" /> They worked long hours in hazardous conditions with little regard for their safety. Housing in Mexican Town reflected the discriminatory policies of the time, as families lived in overcrowded, poorly maintained structures that lacked running water and adequate sanitation.<ref name="Ortiz2004" />
Despite the discrimination they faced, Mexican Town developed into a vibrant cultural hub where residents preserved their customs, language, and traditions. Families established small stores, built schools, and created churches that served as the heart of the community. Religious and cultural celebrations, including fiestas and festivals, brought the community together and reinforced a sense of identity and resilience.<ref name="Ruiz1998" />
The Mexican Pool, a public swimming pool built for the community, provided a rare recreational outlet for Mexican families during a time when public facilities were segregated.<ref name="JHS2023">Jerome Historical Society Archives. "Mexican Pool and Social Life in Jerome." Available at: [1](https://www.jeromehistoricalsociety.com)</ref>
As copper production in Jerome declined in the 1930s and the population dwindled, Mexican Town gradually faded away. Many families left to seek better opportunities elsewhere, while others were displaced as Jerome’s fortunes waned. Today, little remains of Mexican Town, but its history highlights the significant contributions of Mexican and Mexican American workers to Jerome’s economy and culture.<ref name="Lopez1995">López, Phillip. Mexican Communities in Arizona Mining Towns. Arizona Historical Review, Vol. 12, 1995.</ref>
Early 20th century
[edit]Jerome, which was legally separate from United Verde and supported many independent businesses, did not meet the definition of a company townTemplate:Sfn even though it depended for decades largely on a single company. In 1914, a separate company, the United Verde Extension Mining Company (UVX), led by James S. Douglas, Jr. (nicknamed Rawhide Jimmy), discovered a second ore body near Jerome that produced a bonanza.Template:Sfn The UVX Mine, also known as the Little Daisy Mine,Template:Sfn became spectacularly profitable: during 1916 alone, it produced $10Template:Spacesmillion worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4Template:Spacesmillion was profit.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This mine eventually produced more than $125Template:Spacesmillion worth of ore and paid more than $50Template:Spacesmillion in dividends.Template:Sfn Total production amounted to four million tons, much less than the United Verde total but from uncommonly rich ore averaging more than 10Template:Spacespercent copper and in places rising to 45Template:Spacespercent.Template:Sfn
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Starting in 1914, World War I greatly increased demand for copper, and by 1916 the number of companies involved in mining near Jerome reached 22.Template:Sfn These companies employed about 3,000 miners in the district.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, United Verde was building a large smelter complex and company town, Clarkdale, and a standard gauge railway, the Verde Tunnel and Smelter Railroad, to haul ore from its mine to the new smelter.Template:Sfn After the new railway opened in 1915, the company dismantled the Jerome smelter and converted the mine to an open-pit operation by 1919.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn The switch from underground to open-pit mining stemmed from a series of fires, some burning for decades, in the mine's high-sulfur ores. Removing the overburden and pouring a mixture of water, waste ore, and sand into rock fissures helped control the fires.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> By 1918, UVX also had its own smelter in its own company town near Cottonwood; the company town was named Clemenceau in 1920.Template:Sfn In 1929, a company named Verde Central opened what at first appeared to be another "great mine"Template:Sfn about a mile southwest of Jerome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The labor situation in Jerome was complicated. Three separate labor unions—the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers (MMSW), the Industrial Workers of the World or IWW, and the Liga Protectora Latina, which represented about 500 Mexican miners—had members in Jerome. In 1917, two miners' strikes involving the IWW, which had been organizing strikes elsewhere in Arizona and other states, took place in Jerome. Seen as a threat by business interests as well as other labor unions, the Wobblies, as they were called, were subject nationally to sometimes violent harassment. The MMSW, which in May called a strike against United Verde, regarded the rival IWW with animosity and would not recognize it as legitimate. In response, the IWW members threatened to break the strike. Under pressure, the MMSW voted 467 to 431 to settle for less than they wanted.<ref name="Lindquist">Template:Cite journal</ref>
In July, the IWW called for a strike against all the mines in the district. In this case, the MMSW voted 470 to 194 against striking. Three days later, about 250 armed vigilantes rounded up at least 60 suspected IWW members, loaded them onto a railroad cattle car, and shipped them out of town in what has been called the Jerome Deportation. Nine IWW members, thought by the Prescott sheriff's department to be leaders, were arrested and jailed temporarily in Prescott though never charged with a crime; others were taken to Needles, California, then to Kingman, Arizona, where they were released after promising to desist from "further agitation".<ref name="Lindquist"/>
After 1920
[edit]
Following a brief post-war downturn, boom times returned to Jerome in the 1920s. Copper prices rose to 24 cents a pound in 1929,Template:Sfn and United Verde and UVX operated at near capacity.Template:Sfn Wages rose, consumers spent, and the town's businesses—including five automobile dealerships—prospered.Template:Sfn United Verde, seeking stable labor relations, added disability and life insurance benefits for its workers and built a baseball field, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a public park in Jerome. Both companies donated to the Jerome Public Library and helped finance projects for the town's schools, churches, and hospitals.Template:Sfn
In 1930, after the start of the Great Depression, the price of copper fell to 14Template:Spacescents a pound.Template:Sfn In response, United Verde began reducing its work force; UVX operated at a loss, and the third big mine, Verde Central, closed completely.Template:Sfn The price of copper fell further in 1932 to 5Template:Spacescents a pound, leading to layoffs, temporary shutdowns, and wage reductions in the Verde District.Template:Sfn In 1935, the Clark family sold United Verde to Phelps Dodge,Template:Sfn and in 1938 UVX went out of business.Template:Sfn
Meanwhile, a subsidence problem that had irreparably damaged at least 10 downtown buildings by 1928 worsened through the 1930s. Dozens of buildings, including the post office and jail, were lost as the earth beneath them sank away.Template:Efn Contributing causes were geologic faulting in the area, blast vibrations from the mines, and erosion that may have been exacerbated by vegetation-killing smelter smoke.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn
Mining continued at a reduced level in the Verde District until 1953, when Phelps Dodge shut down the United Verde Mine and related operations. Jerome's population subsequently fell below 100.Template:Sfn To prevent the town from disappearing completely, its remaining residents turned to tourism and retail sales. They organized the Jerome Historical Society in 1953 and opened a museum and gift shop.Template:Sfn
To encourage tourism, the town's leaders sought National Historic Landmark status for Jerome; it was granted by the federal government in 1967.Template:Sfn In 1962, James Douglas's heirs donated the Douglas mansion, above the UVX mine site, to the State of Arizona, which used it to create Jerome State Historic Park.Template:Sfn By sponsoring music festivals, historic-homes tours, celebrations, and races, the community attracted visitors and new businesses, which in the 21st century include art galleries, craft stores, wineries, coffeehouses, and restaurants.Template:Sfn
Climate
[edit]July is typically the warmest month in Jerome, when highs average Template:Convert and lows average Template:Convert. January is coldest, when the high temperatures average Template:Convert and the lows average Template:Convert. The highest recorded temperature through 2005 was Template:Convert in 2003, and the lowest was Template:Convert in 1963. August, averaging about Template:Convert of rain, is the wettest month, while the spring months of April to June generally do not have significant rainfall.<ref name="Western Regional">Template:Cite web Maximum highs and lows are included in the table labeled "Temperature" under the heading "General Climate Summary Tables" in the left-hand column.</ref>
Although most precipitation arrives in the town as rain, snow and fog sometimes occur.<ref name="state park weather">Template:Cite web</ref> On average, about Template:Convert of snow falls in January and lesser amounts in February, March, April, November, and December.<ref name="Western Regional"/> Even so, the average depth of snow on the ground between 1897 and 2005 was so close to zero that it is reported as zero.<ref name="Western Regional"/> Jerome is often windy, especially in spring and fall.<ref name="state park weather"/> Summer thunderstorms can be violent.<ref name="state park weather"/>
According to the Köppen climate classification, Jerome has a Mediterranean climate (Csa).
Demographics
[edit]The makeup of early Jerome differed greatly from the 21st-century version of the town. The original mining claims were filed by North American ranchers and prospectors, but as the mines were developed, workers of varied ethnic groups and nationalities arrived. Among them were people of Irish, Chinese, Italian, and Slavic origin who came to Jerome in the late 19th century. By the time of World WarTemplate:SpacesI, Mexican nationals were arriving in large numbers, and census figures suggest that in 1930 about 60Template:Spacespercent of the town's residents were Latino.Template:Sfn This statistic is supported by mining company records showing that about 57 percent of the UVX workers were Mexican nationals in 1931 and that foreign-born and Spanish-surnamed workers accounted for about 77Template:Spacespercent of the UVX work force.Template:Sfn
The ratio of females to males also varied greatly over time in Jerome. Census data from 1900 through 1950 show a gradual rise in the percentage of female residents, who accounted for only 22Template:Spacespercent of the population at the turn of the century but about 50Template:Spacespercent by mid-century.Template:Sfn
As of the census of 2010, Jerome was home to 444 people comprising 253 households, 93 of which were families made up of a householder and one or more people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. The other 160 were non-family. The residents had a racial makeup that was nearly 94Template:Spacespercent White, and the remainder were listed in the census as Black or African American, Native American, Asian, other, or combinations thereof. About 6Template:Spacespercent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The population, nearly evenly split along gender lines, consisted of 226 women with a median age of 54 and 218 men with a median age of 55.<ref name ="wwwcensusgov"/>
As of the census of 2020, the population had grown to 464, and the median income for a household in the town was about $35,000. About 19 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Government
[edit]Jerome has a mayor–council government. The five seats on the council are filled by public election every two years, and the council member receiving the most votes in that election becomes the mayor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Christina "Alex" Barber is the mayor in 2024, and Jane Moore is the vice mayor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yavapai County typically elects Republicans to state and federal offices.<ref name="NPR elections">Template:Cite news</ref> About 64Template:Spacespercent of its participating voters chose Republican Mitt Romney for president in 2012,<ref name="NPR elections"/> and about 63Template:Spacespercent chose Republican Donald Trump in 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the state level, Walter Blackman and Bob Thorpe, both Republicans, represent Jerome as part of the Sixth Legislative District of the Arizona Legislature. Republican Sylvia Allen represents the Sixth District in the Arizona Senate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the federal level, Republican Paul Gosar represents Jerome and the rest of Arizona's Fourth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Democrats Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego represent Arizona in the United States Senate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The town is patrolled by its own police department<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is also served by the Eastern Area Command of the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> About two dozen men and women comprise Jerome's volunteer fire department, which serves an area of more than Template:Convert including nearby rural and mountainous terrain as well as the town itself. Firefighting, emergency medical service, and wilderness rescues are its specialties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jerome is in the Verde Valley Precinct of the Yavapai County Justice Court system.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2013, Jerome was the third municipality in Arizona to recognize civil unions between same-sex partners, after Bisbee and Tucson.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Economy and culture
[edit]Jerome's economy centers mainly on recreation and tourism. Figures published in 2015 showed that over half the labor force worked in arts, entertainment, retail, food and recreation services, while manufacturing and construction employed just over 10Template:Spacespercent.<ref name=commerce>Template:Cite web</ref> Between 1990 and 2006 the value of taxable sales increased from $4.8Template:Spacesmillion to $15.5Template:Spacesmillion,<ref name=cottonwood>Template:Cite web</ref> and between 1990 and 2014 the unemployment rate fell from 4.2Template:Spacesto 1.4Template:Spacespercent.<ref name=commerce/> Formerly vacant buildings house boutiques, gift shops, antique and craft shops;<ref name=cottonwood/> the town also has five art galleries, a library, three parks and two museums, including the Mine Museum run by the Jerome Historical Society,<ref name=commerce/> and a former church building that houses the society's offices and archives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Annual events include a home tour ("Paso de Casas") in May, a reunion for former mining families in October, and a Festival of Lights in December.<ref name=cottonwood/> Gulch Radio KZRJ broadcasts from Jerome at 100.5 FM and streams online.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Town of Jerome publishes a bimonthly newsletter, Point of View.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Infrastructure
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School buildings
[edit]Children from Jerome in kindergarten through eighth grade attend the Clarkdale–Jerome School in Clarkdale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Older students attend Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood.<ref name="school history">Template:Cite news</ref> Each of these communities had its own schools during the first half of the 20th century,<ref name="school history"/> but declining populations and shrinking tax revenues led to consolidation.Template:Sfn The former Jerome High School complex is home in the 21st century to many artists' galleries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sliding Jail
[edit]
In March 2017, the Jerome Historical Society acquired the former jail, now known as the Sliding Jail, from the Town of Jerome. Rendered unusable but not completely destroyed by earth movements since the 1930s, the structure is about Template:Convert downhill from where it was originally built. It has become a popular tourist attraction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Utilities
[edit]Jerome manages its own water system,<ref name="Utilities">Template:Cite web</ref> sourced by ten mountain springs.<ref name="home page">Template:Cite web</ref> The town's annual water report for 2016 assured residents that Jerome's water met all state and federal requirements and was safe to drink.<ref name="home page"/> Jerome administers its own sewer system, trash collection, and recycling services.<ref name="public works">Template:Cite web</ref> Its public works department maintains the equipment and infrastructure associated with these systems as well the water system, streets, parks, and other city property.<ref name="public works"/>
Arizona Public Service provides electricity to Jerome, and UniSource Energy Services is the supplier of natural gas.<ref name="welcome">Template:Cite web</ref> Century Link (DSL), HughesNet (satellite), Speed Connect (fixed wireless), and mobile Web providers offer Internet access.<ref name=DecisionData>Template:Cite web</ref> Satellite television is available via DirecTV and the Dish Network.<ref name=DecisionData/> Mobile phone companies and Century Link offer telephone services.<ref name="welcome"/>
In popular culture
[edit]- Brothel is a haunted house movie filmed in Jerome and nearby.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- The Barenaked Ladies song "Jerome" focuses on the town's reputation for being haunted, and also refers to the Sliding Jail and other points of interest in local geography, culture, and history.<ref>Kevin Hearn, Barenaked Ladies, "Jerome", All in Good Time (Barenaked Ladies album), Raisin' Records, 2010</ref>
- Muckers (2013) by Sandra Neil Wallace, a former sportscaster for ESPN, is a historical novel for young adults that is based on the Jerome High School football team of 1950. The team went undefeated that year, shortly before the copper mine closed and Jerome's population dwindled.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Singer-songwriter Kate Wolf wrote the song "Old Jerome" about the town.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]- Maynard James Keenan (born 1964), singer for rock music bands<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Katie Lee (1919−2017), folk singer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and environmental activist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Fred Rico (born 1944), Major League Baseball player,<ref name="The Baseball Encyclopedia">Template:Cite book</ref> born in Jerome.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Informational notes Template:Notelist
Citations Template:Reflist
Bibliography
- Template:Cite book
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External links
[edit]Template:Commons category Template:Wikivoyage
- Jerome Chamber of Commerce
- Jerome Historical Society
- Jerome Humane Society
- Jerome Times
- Verde Valley Tourism Council
Template:Yavapai County, Arizona Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control