Jerome, Arizona: The Town That Refused to Die

Jerome was once the fourth largest city in the territory, a copper mining boomtown perched at 5,000 feet on the side of Mingus Mountain. When the mines closed in 1953, the population collapsed from 15,000 to 50. What remained was a ghost town with extraordinary views and a collection of vertical streets that made conventional rebuilding difficult. What Jerome became instead — gradually, over several decades — is one of the more genuinely interesting small towns in Arizona: artists, gallery operators, winemakers, and independent restaurateurs who valued the isolation and the character of the historic mining buildings. Caduceus Cellars, operated by Maynard James Keenan of the band Tool, produces wine from Cochise County grapes and has helped position Jerome as a destination within the growing Verde Valley wine corridor. The Jerome State Historic Park, located in the original Douglas Mansion, provides context about the mining history that built the town. The view from the park's terrace reaches across the Verde Valley to Sedona's red rocks twenty miles east. Allow a half day minimum. The drive from Phoenix is two hours.