Jerome and Sedona AZ

[TucsonDirt]

Went to visit the FIL last week in northern AZ.
Got a chance to visit the small copper mining town of Jerome, nestled in the hills on the S. side of the Verde Valley.
This town was a copper boomtown in the early twentieth century.
There is a state park and museum there with some pretty interesting displays.
Here is a view from the museum site looking southward, with an old hotel in the distance. Note the snow on the mountains:

There are many displays of mining equipment, I believe this is an ore crusher:

There are also many dioramas and models of the town and mine as well as history of the town and its founders.
The museum includes displays on mining engineering, railroading, power equipment and other mining-related topics.
There is also quite an impressive mineral display.

 

[TucsonDirt]

We also had a chance to take a short hike in Sedona on a beautiful December day with temps in the mid-60's.
There are vistas of sandstone formations everywhere you look, it truly is a beautiful place.

Here are some views from the Fay Canyon trail:

And a view from the Red Rock loop drive:

 

[Joe S.]

Excellent pics! That is a beautiful area!

 

[CGDustDevil]

Beautiful country up there!! My brother who lives in Prescott does a lot of prospecting in those areas. Been quite a while since I've been up there.

Great photos! Thanks for sharing!

Regards, Pete

 

[Coop]

My dad and stepmom retired to Prescott in 1971. My oldest son did his doctorate at UofA in Tucson in the early 90's. I live here in the east, but spent/spend hundreds of days visiting that great state over the last 35 years. I have backpacked many times in areas between Prescott, Sedona, Cottonwood, north to Flagstaff and Kingwood in all kinds of weather with my kids, girlfriends (until I married), and my wife.

That whole area is stunning in its beauty and its diversity. Thanks for the pictures. I'll be back there in late February for a couple of weeks.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Shuuuuush! . . . DON'T TELL ANYONE!
It's not near as hot as Phoenix and Tucson.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Amazing!

I have been to Jerome once, in the summer of 1961. It was nothing like today: everything was abandoned, and looked like the miners just dropped their things and left. That road was barely one car wide, and I just knew we were going over the edge at one of the switchbacks going down into "town" because I doubt if anyone knew the last time someone had taken a blade to it. To say it was pretty rough would be a compliment.

Glad to see someone's undone a lot of the ravages of time to preserve such a piece of history. Thanks for the great pictures, too!

Rick C

 

[don44]

Very, very nice. Thanks!

 

[Jeepnik]

Great photos. Proper name for the machine is a stamp mill. And it was used to crush ore. One of the first steps in mineral extraction.

 

[Poco Oso]

My favorite place in Arizona! I spent a couple summers there as "The mayor of Schnebley Hill". I lived in my van, on the hill, and worked in town at a cabinet shop. My folks had property in Prescott Valley, and I'd take that drive through Cottonwood, Jerome, and over Mingus Mountain, about every weekend to visit. Beautiful, powerful country. Nice pics.

 

[TucsonDirt]

Great photos. Proper name for the machine is a stamp mill. And it was used to crush ore. One of the first steps in mineral extraction.

Thanks for identifying the stamp mill, I don't recall if there was a label on it or not (most items at the museum had good descriptive plaques).
There was one mural that showed the copper production process, it was more complex than I imagined. I could've spent a few hours there, will probably go back.

 

[TinkerDave]

Last time I was at Jerome was 27 Years ago, before that it was 1972. Is a nice place to visit. There are lots of "ghost towns" to visit in the southwest. Some days, I wish I were back there. TD

 

[lostatsea]

I used to work as surveyor in AZ. in the 70's. I think I've been in just about every town in AZ including Jerome. Shot a very nice buck on Mingus Mt. somewhere around 73. Jerome was inhabited by hippy squaters back in those days. Place was almost a ghost town, maybe 100 people in the whole town.

Nice pics. Glad they cleaned the place up.

 

[BearBio]

An actual steam shovel (operated by steam) hit an unexploded charge near where the picture of the hotel was taken and part of the shovel was thrown all the way to the hotel. Several people were killed.