There have been several books written about Jerome and its history. Here are a few that might be of interest. Some are available on Amazon.com, others are only available from sources in town. While you’re on the home tour, be sure to look for these books in shops or from the sources listed below. Books published by Haven Methodist Church are available at the church for a small donation. The church is located at what is usually the halfway point of the annual Jerome Home Tour, and they serve refreshments and have restrooms.
Home Sweet Jerome: Death and Rebirth of Arizona’s Richest Copper Mining City
by Diane Sward Rapaport
“The first book on Jerome’s history after 1953. When mining left the town in the early 1950’s most thought the town would close down all together. But Jerome was too stubborn to die and it has become Arizona’s most famous ghost town and a notorious and loveable hippie hideout.”
Dan Engler at the Verde Independent said:
“More than anything else, Home Sweet Jerome is a story of that endless saga of the changing of the guard; of how the young replace the old…Rapaport digs into the deepest corners of Jerome’s historical treasure chest. From the underground marijuana economy to the leading-edge tech advances by the Jerome Instrument Corporation to the infamous drug raid in 1985 to the art renaissance we enjoy today, Diane Sward Rapaport’s Home Sweet Jerome is meticulously researched and masterfully penned by someone who lived it. And, most importantly, loved it.”
Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune
by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell Jr.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Janet Maslin, The New York Times • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“One of the biggest eccentric, rich fishes out there was Huguette Clark. Deceased for more than two years, Clark, brought to life by investigator Dedman and Clark’s descendant, Newell, owned nouveau riche palaces in New York, Connecticut, and California. An heiress, Clark disappeared from public view in the 1920s. What happened to her and her vast wealth? Answering this question is the book’s mission. Based on records and the hearsay of relations and former employees, the book pieces together Clarks life, that of a woman rumored to be institutionalized while her mansions stood empty, though immaculately maintained throughout her life.”
Haunted Jerome (Haunted America)
by Patricia Jacobsen and Midge Steuber
“Jerome was once the home to the largest copper mine in Northern Arizona, built on the steep terrain of Cleopatra Hill. The small town, population fifteen thousand at its peak, was shockingly nefarious. Diversions for the hardworking miners came by way of saloons, gambling and ladies of the evening. Shootouts and murders, violent accidents in the mines and smelters, and fires and diseases scourged its denizens. Life was tough on the mountain – death came too soon for many. When the copper mine closed in 1953, Jerome was rendered a ghost town, and its spirits still lurk among the living. The stories in this book will convince you they are here for a reason.”
They Came To Jerome: The Billion Dollar Copper Camp
by Herbert V. Young, published and distributed by the Jerome Historical Society
“This is the most comprehensive book about Jerome Arizona’s history during the mining era. It chronicles the town’s life from its beginnings as a copper camp in the late 1800s through its mining heyday before the Great Depression. Herbert Young was secretary to the general manager of Jerome’s United Verde Copper Company and his writings draw upon 43 years of experience in the development and decline of Jerome’s mining operations.”
The Ghost of the Cuban Queen Bordello: A Story of a 1920’s Jerome Arizona Madam
by Peggy Hicks
“Does Her Spirit Now Haunt the Abandoned Cuban Queen Bordello? This narrative begins as a true ghost story based on actual events and is documented with vintage photos. After an unsettling modern-day ghostly encounter at a crumbling 1920’s bordello in Jerome, Arizona, the author sets out on a quest and uncovers some deplorable secrets concerning the attractive, but devious Madam that once resided there.”
Jerome (Images of America: Arizona)
by Midge Steuber
“The rugged mining community of Jerome has thrived by the hard work and hard play of tough men and women pitted against an equally hard mountain. William Murray solicited funding for the Black Hills mining camp from his uncle, a New York lawyer and financier named Eugene Murray Jerome, who reportedly was not interested. However, his independent wife was delighted at the prospect and raised $200,000 in development capital for Murray. In 1882, Frederick F. Thomas, Jerome’s first postmaster, named the mining camp “Jerome” in honor of the family.”
“Local author and historian Midge Steuber has been enchanted with Jerome’s colorful history and free spirit from the moment she first visited the mountain community. For this volume, Steuber has spent countless hours immersed in the vast archives of the Jerome Historical Society assisted by the boundless knowledge of Jerome archivist Ronne Roope. The nonprofit Jerome Historical Society operates the Jerome Mine Museum on Main Street.”
Experience Jerome: The Moguls, Miners, And Mistresses of Cleopatra Hill
by Kate Ruland Thorne
“The mining history of Jerome, Arizona from 1583 to the Great Depression.”
Ghosts of Cleopatra Hill
by Herbert V. Young
“Ghosts of Cleopatra has been reprinted by popular demand. This book talks about the significant leaders in Jerome’s early history. Read about the famous shootout with Officer Johnny Hudgens to the mining executives who helped make Jerome the Billion Dollar Copper Camp.”
Jerome Stories
by Waverly Farrell
“Jerome Stories is a collection of short narratives centered on a time during the early 20th. century when Jerome was a thriving metropolis build by investors and maintained by miners. Set on the side of a mountain in the midst of a valley, it was home to the Harrington family, immigrants from Ireland. The road from the Verde Valley still twists up Cleopatra Hill past the home that Jim Harrington built in the town that refuses to die.”
Rich Town Poor Town
by Roberto Rabago
“The mines of Jerome, Arizona, produced billions of dollars worth of copper, gold and silver. These riches supported a fabulously wealthy lifestyle—for the owners and managers. However, for the proud and skilled miners and their families, life was hard.”
After The Boom In Tombstone And Jerome, Arizona: Decline In Western Resource Towns (Shepperson Series in History Humanities)
by Eric L. Clements
“The literature of the West abounds with colorful sagas of mining boomtowns that sprang up after the discovery of an important mineral deposit, but the decline of those towns is rarely treated as more than an epilogue to the story.”
Jerome Times – Ghosts Upon The Page
by Terry Molloy
“…there is a hidden, little spoken of history that is not a part of the “official” canon. “Jerome Times” offers that version with a story for every decade of the town’s history. In “Jerome Times” you will encounter the stories known only to the oldtimers, outlaws, and outcasts who’s version of things don’t fit into the “approved” timeline. In this book you will meet people as diverse as Wyatt Earp and Don Juan Matus, as different as the shooter from the grassy knoll and Robert Oppenheimer, as groundbreaking as Zelda Fitzgerald and Elvis.”
Lady Lost: The Story of the Honeymoon Cottage in Jerome, Arizona
by Margaret Graziano
“Imagery, wisdom and humor punctuate Margaret Graziano’s personal account of an elaborate home restoration project she undertook unexpectedly but accomplished with pure heart and soul. When she was introduced to the Lady of the Honeymoon Cottage, Marge never expected where this fantastic journey in historic Jerome, Arizona would lead.”
Jerome, Arizona Tourguide
published by Haven United Methodist Church, available from the church for a donation
“The purpose of the JEROME TOURGUIDE is to add to the pleasure of your visit by briefing you on Jerome’s proud past, pinpointing various locations of historic buildings now gone, those left standing – some intact and some in various stages of restoration or reconstruction.”
This book gives a brief history of Jerome and its founders, as well as most of the prominent buildings in town. Includes a centerfold map of town. The cover features a photo of Jerome taken by John W.Jenkins, a past pastor of Haven United Methodist Church.
The Copper Town Cookbook Jerome, AZ
published by Haven United Methodist Church, available from the church for a donation
From the original dedication page from 1972:
“We have attempted to give it something of the aura of a copper mining town and this decision has led us down a very interesting path. We have had responses from the east coast to the west coast, from oldtimers who think of Jerome with unwavering affection, from men as well as women who remember dishes concocted by dear ones, and who wish to share them with us. Some recipes, we are told, are typical of all mining towns and we are delighted to include them in our book.”
Includes 90 pages of recipes, including recipes for “Spook Hall Candy,” “Granny Gook Sandwich Spread,” “Mock Salmon Salad,” “Corn Meal Creampuffs,” “Cleopatra Hill Prune Cake,” “Suet Pudding with Hard Sauce,” “Porcupines,” “Hamburger Onion Pie,” and many more.
High Altitude Cook Book
published in 1993 by Haven United Methodist Church, out-of-print, may be available from the church for a donation
Reprint of a book published by the Ladies’ Aid Society of the Methodist Church Jerome, AZ in 1922. Includes several pages of recipes from the era, as well as historical information about Haven Methodist Church. Also includes local ads placed by the local businesses in Jerome in 1922.
“We publish the little book with a wish that it may be of real usefulness to those using it. Each recipe has been tried by one of more of our ladies of the Society and known to be good.
We wish to thank all the business men who have assisted us by the purchasing of advertising. Let us return the favor by patronizing them.
Sincerely, Ladies of the M.E. Aid Society”