Gold King Mine Museum and Ghost Town:
I liked the old trucks, but otherwise this place was a dump.
Visited Wednesday, October 9, 2013; reviewed October 26, 2013 See this review on Trip Advisor.
After spending the morning and early afternoon investigating the town of Jerome (a fascinating little berg, by the way), we headed out a dirt road past an old mine to the ghost town. Well, that’s what it is called anyway. It is really more of a junkyard. As far as attractions with and admission price go, this one is pretty weak.
While it is advertised as a ghost town, but it is really a collection of derelict buildings and a collection of old trucks and mining equipment in various states of disrepair. Granted there are several vehicles that have been fully restored and are in gorgeous condition, but for everyone one of those, there are probably ten that are just heaps of rusted iron. For someone who is really into old trucks and equipment, this would be a great draw. The old vehicles also provide some interesting photographic opportunities as well, so it was not a total loss. But the place was dirty; there were thick layers of rodent droppings covering several exposed surfaces. I would also have to say that this was a pretty unsafe place. Lots of rusty edges and moving parts that kids could run right into. Hey, I’m a National Parks guy, and I would rather deal with the risk of an exposed cliff rather than put up fences around the Grand Canyon, but this place is really over the top. I did not see any warning signs (they might have been there, camouflaged by the junk) or barricades around any of the operating equipment. To be fair, I did see a warning sign about snakes and there was a fence around the old gold mine. My wife did enjoy feeding the critters, a donkey, a couple goats and some chickens, and I got some interesting shots of the old wrecks, so I guess it was worth the $5 per person, but it is not a place to which I would return. |
Jerome State Historical Park:
Excellent historical site; great perspective on Jerome.
Visited on Wednesday, October 9, 2013; reviewed October 26, 2013 See this review on Trip Advisor.
After a day of walking through the shops of Jerome, one of our final stops was the Jerome State Historical Park. In hindsight, I wish that we had started at the park in order to have a better appreciation for the town of Jerome and how it came to be.
The park is centered around the Douglas mansion which was built in 1916 by James Douglas on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. The exhibits in the museum tell the story of the copper mining operations, the town of Jerome and the folks who built the industry and the town. There were a variety of interesting artifacts inside and outside the mansion. I found the three-dimensional model of the mines under the town of Jerome to be fascinating. The ore exhibit under the UV light was pretty cool as well; the various ores emit different colors which made for a dazzling display. The old panoramic photos of the town provided a bit of a comparison over time of the growth and destruction of the town (there are several significant fires that destroyed large portions of Jerome over the years plus the town was also sliding down the mountain due to subsidence caused by the mines). Overall it was time well spent.
After a day of walking through the shops of Jerome, one of our final stops was the Jerome State Historical Park. In hindsight, I wish that we had started at the park in order to have a better appreciation for the town of Jerome and how it came to be.
The park is centered around the Douglas mansion which was built in 1916 by James Douglas on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. The exhibits in the museum tell the story of the copper mining operations, the town of Jerome and the folks who built the industry and the town. There were a variety of interesting artifacts inside and outside the mansion. I found the three-dimensional model of the mines under the town of Jerome to be fascinating. The ore exhibit under the UV light was pretty cool as well; the various ores emit different colors which made for a dazzling display. The old panoramic photos of the town provided a bit of a comparison over time of the growth and destruction of the town (there are several significant fires that destroyed large portions of Jerome over the years plus the town was also sliding down the mountain due to subsidence caused by the mines). Overall it was time well spent.