Description

Jerome Mining Camp overview, Jerome, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory c. 1880's. Handwriting on the photograph reads: " Jerome Mining Camp from Buffum's Store, 1880."

The town of Jerome was named for Eugene Jerome, one of two New York principles who lent financial aid to this area's mines early in its' history. Mr. Jerome was the first secretary of the United Verde Copper Company. 

The town of Jerome grew up around the successful United Verde Mine, it was situated on the eastern slope of the Black Hills, in Yavapai County, Arizona. This valley had been inhabited by native peoples for prehistoric centuries; numerous remains of their dwellings were found in the cliffs and gorges and on the mountain tops. The first white men settled in the area around 1865. The fertile Verde River proved beneficial for farming. However, others were more interested in prospecting the surrounding hills, and an outcropping of copper-bearing ore was discovered in 1876.

The United Verde Copper Company was organized in 1882. This was the start of a mining legacy; the rich copper ore deposits turned Jerome into a boom town; by 1929 the population had grown to an estimated 15,000. In its' heyday, Jerome's prosperity saw the usual influx of profiteers and it was labeled as the wickedest town in America by the New York Sun newspaper.

Succeeding owners including Senator William A. Clark and James S. Douglas. Clark's United Verde Copper Company and James "Rawhide Jimmy" Douglas' Verde Extension mines produced millions of dollars' worth of copper, gold and silver.

In 1935, Phelps Dodge Corporation purchased the United Verde property and continued operating it until 1953 when the last of the mines shut down.

Jerome seemed doomed as the population dropped to less than 100. But a new breed of settlers slowly moved in and the town became a modern age tourist attraction and haven for artists, environmentalists, bikers, retirees and more.