Day Trip to Jerome

Every tourist who comes through Central Arizona should take a day trip to Jerome.  It once was a thriving copper mining town named for Winston Churchill's mother, Jennie Jerome Churchill, which later became a ghost town which later become a Hell's Angels outpost which later became an artists' colony which later became a revitalized ghost town and tourist attraction.  The above picture is of the Bradshaw Mountains between Phoenix and Cottonwood on the way to Jerome. How would you like to ride across those hills in a Conestoga wagon or a mule on the way to California?  Many people did!

This is Jerome, built on the side of a mountain.  It is a fascinating place with much history and an absolute blast to visit.  When I first moved to Arizona in 1972 it had seven (that's 7) residents and most of the buildings were falling off the side of the mountain.  There were two open retail establishments, the House of Joy restaurant - reputed to originally be a house of ill repute, which was only open on weekends, and a bar down (or up, as the case may be) on Hill Street.  In the coming days I hope to show you more of Jerome.  For history, just Google it!