Sheepdog's Adventure

Jerome

Jerome, Arizona is a most unusual place. At one time Jerome was a mining town and was known as Arizona’s Billion Dollar Copper Camp, but in 1953 the mines closed down, and as a result of Jerome’s collapsed economy the people moved away. End result was that Jerome became a “ghost” town. But years later, artists began to move into the empty shells of abandoned houses and other buildings built into the side of Jerome’s high, sweeping hill, and the town began to live again. Now it thrives, welcoming the visitor from afar who just might buy a house there and move in – like many have done.
     Outside of Jerome is a ghostly place where the mines were. Still standing are the individual small buildings that made up the small mining “camp”. One can view the tiny dentist’s building, as it was when it was first abandoned: the old-style chair and dentistry implements lay covered in decades of thick dust. There is a small street lined with other tiny one-roomed buildings, all filled with dust-covered furniture of the times. A small mill that saws wood is in operation, so you will see some human activity there, and perhaps the donkey will be in his pen – Pedro Gonzales Gonzales Gonzales – named after one of the town’s past mayors. Old-model cars and trucks sit about where they were last parked many decades ago, collecting desert dust and looking as if you could just turn the key and drive off in one. There is a fee to walk around this “ghostly” part of Jerome, but it is off the beaten path, so chances are you will encounter few other tourists there. *It’s advisable to take water along with you because you will be in the desert.

  

Cars and trucks are still standing where they were left decades ago. Garages are still full of tools and spare parts.

The Grand Hotel, situated on Jerome's hilltop.

The view from the Grand Hotel.

The little dentist's office. Inside are the chair and dental implements, all covered in decades of dust.