So, as I was saying...we are having magnificent spring weather right now. We decided to take advantage of it, and went on a family road trip on Sunday. I suggested we make a trip down to Jerome, an old mining town. Founded in 1876, Jerome was a typical boom town, which nearly faded into oblivion when the mines petered out. Luckily it survived, and is undergoing a lot of renovation and revival. I'd been through there once before, and always wanted to go back for a closer look.
Jerome isn't technically a real ghost town...people still live there...but it definitely has that "stuck in time" feel to it. The Wild West lives on there...it has numerous old, old homes and buildings. It perches precariously on the side of Cleopatra Hill, and it's amazing to me that any of the homes are still standing.
Of course, like any old West town worth its salt, Jerome has a reputation of being haunted. I've always been a fan of "true" ghost stories and hauntings, so I was excited to find out about The Jerome Grand Hotel, pictured here in a photo I snapped through the windshield while we were driving.
Isn't it spooky? Apparently, it started out as the local hospital, and now it is an operational hotel with a full compliment of ghosties to keep the guests entertained. I told my husband to book us a weekend there for our next anniversary. Maybe I'll get lucky and catch a photo of the ghost nurse, or the ghost of the little boy who roams the halls...or of their most famous ghost, the maintenance worker who met an unfortunate end in 1935 when he was mysteriously crushed by the elevator...
Here is another photo I took on our trip...
this one is also in Jerome, about half way up the switchbacks to the town. It is an old abandoned gas station, apparently called the "Mohawk Mini-Mart" in its last life. I wonder how long it's been since it was open, and what it was called in its first life.Unfortunately, we didn't get to park and walk around on this trip. The town was jam-packed with tourists, and a whole bunch of bikers, lol. We literally couldn't find a reasonable place to park! I can't wait to go back though, with my walking shoes on and camera in tow. Hopefully I'll have a lot more photos to post next time!
One of my former employees stayed there. (In the old hospital) and they one by one got sick that night and ended up leaving. They were a little freaked out. I haven't personally been to Jerome but lots of people love it. Hope you are having a fabulous day.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! You know, I didn't know anything about Jerome when I stayed at the Jerome Grand. I kept waking up at night to someone coughing in the corner of the room where there was no bed. It kept waking me up all night long. Finally I got up, went to the corner of the room and said, "Stop it! I'm trying to sleep!" I went back to bed and it was silent the rest of the night. Later on, I looked it up and found out the hotel was a hospital for miners. Guess that was the coughing. I was pretty impressed. The town reminds me of Bisbee in that it seems like only folks hiding from the world live there and you don't always feel real welcome. I'm horrified of the drive up (hate heights) but I gotta admit, that town is really creepy with a capital "C."
ReplyDeleteVery nice article to read. I just love snooping around in old things. Wish I could see that ole' Town. I'd have a ball just walking around in it.
ReplyDeletesounds like a cool spot that got blown out.
ReplyDeletetourists suck.
you should tell Ghost Hunters to do an episode there.
I'd love it if GH did an ep there. I can't wait to go check it out myself.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a total skeptic about ghosts, but he's a good sport and said we can book a room there one night!