Jerome, Arizona

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Jerome, Arizona
Location in Yavapai County and the state of Arizona
Country	United States
State	Arizona
Counties	Yavapai
Area
- City	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²)
Elevation	5,080 ft (1,548 m)
Population (2000)
- City	343
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)

Jerome is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 343.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Mining 1.2 Jerome Deportation 1.3 Great Jerome Fire 1.4 Mining decline and closure 1.5 Modern Jerome: tourism and art 1.6 Trivia 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Notable residents 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The area around what is now Jerome was mined for silver and copper since the Spanish colonial era when Arizona was part of New Spain.

[edit] Mining

A mining camp named Jerome was established atop "Cleopatra Hill" in 1883. It was named for Eugene Murray Jerome, a New York investor who owned the mineral rights and financed mining there. Eugene Jerome never visited his namesake town. Jerome was incorporated as a town on 8 March 1889. The town housed the workers in the nearby United Verde Mine, which was said to produce over 1 billion dollars in ore over the next 70 years.

Jerome was reincorporated as a city in 1899 and a building code specifying brick or masonry construction instituted to end the frequent fires that had repeatedly burned up sections of the town previously.

Jerome became a notorious "wild west" town, a hotbed of prostitution, gambling, and vice. On 5 February 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West".

In 1915 the population of Jerome was estimated at 2,500.

[edit] Jerome Deportation

Starting in May of 1917 there was a series of miners strikes, in part organized by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). On 10 July of that year armed agents of the mine owners roughly rounded up all the labor union organizers and unionized miners on to railroad cattle cars, on 12 July letting them out near Kingman, Arizona after they were warned not to return to Jerome if they valued their lives. This incident is known as the Jerome Deportation.

This event would ultimately serve as a prelude to the larger and more well-known Bisbee Deportation.

[edit] Great Jerome Fire

In 1918 fires spread out of control over 22 miles of underground mines. This prompted the end of underground mining in favor of open pit mining. For decades dynamite was used to open up pits in the area, frequently shaking the town and sometimes damaging or moving buildings; after one blast in the 1930s the city jail slid one block down hill intact.

In the late 1920s Jerome's population was over 15,000.

[edit] Mining decline and closure

In 1953 the last of Jerome's mines closed, and much of the population left town. Jerome's population reached a low point of about 50 people in the late 1950s.

In 1967 Jerome was designated a Historic District, and a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

[edit] Modern Jerome: tourism and art

Today Jerome is a tourist attraction, with many abandoned and refurbished buildings from its boom town days. Jerome is the location of an extensive mining museum, presenting the town history, labor-management disputes, geological structure models, spectacular mineral samples, and equipment used in both underground and open-pit mining.

In 1983, California folk-singer Kate Wolf wrote the song "Old Jerome" after visiting the town. In 1987 the town council adopted it as their official town song.

Many artists and artisans make, display, and sell their crafts here.

[edit] Trivia

In recent years Jerome has had a reputation as an enclave of liberal politics in otherwise conservative Yavapai County, giving large majorities to Democratic Party candidates in the 2000 and 2004 elections equaled only by the southern Arizona town of Bisbee — also a site of early labor organizing in Arizona (see "Jerome Deportation," above). Jerome had one of the highest vote percentages given to Ralph Nader in Arizona in 2000.

Jerome is home to folksinger Katie Lee.

[edit] Geography

Jerome is located at 34°44′54″N, 112°6′39″W (34.748311, -112.110853)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 329 people, 182 households, and 84 families residing in the town. The population density was 178.9/km² (462.1/mi²). There were 215 housing units at an average density of 116.9/km² (302.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 91.79% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 2.43% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 2.13% from other races, and 3.04% from two or more races. 8.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 182 households out of which 17.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.1% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.8% were non-families. 41.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.81 and the average family size was 2.37.

In the town the population was spread out with 12.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 41.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,857, and the median income for a family was $27,222. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,967. About 4.2% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.3% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable residents

• Fred Rico, born in Jerome, major league baseball player^[2]
• Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of Tool, band.^[3]
• Homer Brown, high school coach of Jerome Muckers
• John Radetich, noted high jumper

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• AZ Jerome.com
• Jerome Chamber of Commerce
• Jerome Arizona, the Town with the Billion Dollar View
• Jerome Historical Society
• Jerome State Historic Park
• The Jerome Times

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 34.748311° -112.110853°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA