Traveling to Jerome: A Ghostly Mine Town Still Alive Today
Jerome is an old mining town in Yavapai County, Arizona, about 100 miles north of Phoenix and 25 miles southwest of Sedona.
Jerome is an old mining town in Yavapai County, Arizona, about 100 miles north of Phoenix and 25 miles southwest of Sedona. The town was founded in 1876 and incorporated in 1899. Jerome was a bustling, booming copper-mining town in the first half of the 1900s but is now famous as one of Arizona’s creepiest ghost towns and paranormal destinations. Situated on a hilltop overlooking Verde Valley, Jerome has various historical buildings and, it’s said, is home to many lingering ghosts. People intrigued by the ghost stories about Jerome travel there to explore the town with hope of encountering the ghosts themselves.
How did Jerome become known as a ghostly town?
During its heyday, the booming mining town of Jerome had a population of over 15,000 residents, most of them employed in one of the two well-established copper mines in town, Little Daisy and United Verde. The town was the state’s largest copper, gold, and silver producer. Jerome was once the third largest town in Arizona and was nicknamed “The Wickedest Town in the West” by the New York Sun newspaper. The town was once worth a billion dollars with the amount of gold, silver, copper, and zinc it produced.
However, after years of production, Jerome’s decline began at the end of the Great Depression. The falling prices of copper and low-grade ore deposits forced the mines to lay off people and, eventually, shut down. Residents were forced to leave to find work, leaving it with a population of fewer than 100 residents.
Most of the town’s buildings fell into disrepair due to run-off, erosion, and lack of maintenance. People also tell of various grisly and ill-fated incidents in one of the prominent hospitals, United Verde, now Jerome Grand Hotel (considered one of the most haunted areas of Jerome and Arizona), and other parts of the town. Jerome experienced fires, landslides, mining accidents, diseases, unnatural events, and numerous deaths. Visitors and current and former residents claim that the town is filled with spirits and share stories of their encounters with ghosts.
Modern-day Jerome
Despite everything, Jerome has reinvented itself as a hillside tourist destination, home to artists, musicians, writers, wine bars, art galleries, boutique shops, and inviting dining spots, with stunning views of the Verde Valley. With a population of about 450 residents, Jerome is the new hotspot for tourism, loved by people looking for a thrilling adventure or exploring the mines, wines, and fine arts in the Verde Valley. Despite its growing popularity, little of Jerome’s appearance has changed over the last century. Several parts of the town still exist in the same abandoned and disrepaired state.
Whether traveling to Jerome for a day trip or wishing to stay there overnight, the town has several things to see and do. When in Jerome, visit Jerome State Historic Park, Gold King Mine, Ghost Town, Jerome Historical Society Mine Museum, Tuzigoot National Museum, and Sliding Jail, and join a ghost tour and historical walking tour.
Jerome, after all the unfortunate events, is renewing itself. Take a tour of this unique and unnatural town on your next visit to Arizona.
Western Express Shuttle Service and Tours provides private transportation between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Sedona and private tours within the state of Arizona.
