Books About Jerome, Arizona
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.”