Spirited Ghost Town of Jerome Arizona

Jerome Ghost Town Bartlett Hotel
2016 Jerome J
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Perched on top of Cleopatra Hill in the heart of Verde Valley, Arizona is the old mining town of Jerome.  Once a bustling copper mining town, Jerome officially became a ghost town in the 1950’s and finally a National Historic District in 1967.

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Jerome is a family favorite for me since the 1970’s.  Every time I visit Jerome, there is something new to see!  This little ghost town is a hidden gem bustling with activity.  There are hotels, restaurants, wineries and tasting rooms, art galleries, museums, and old fashion saloons!

The views are stunning throughout the town!  Customers line up at the various restaurants and wineries that showcase the view. One of the most popular spots is the delicious Haunted Hamburger restaurant.

This little town is full of eerie sights and locations haunted by former residents from the days as the “Wickedest Town in the West”.  These spirits continue to offer ghost hunters more questions around the strange apparitions and unexplained moving objects.   The town’s Community Center is also known as Spook Hall due to a resident ghost and her odd behavior.  The former brothels on Main Street are still popular for sightings of phantoms.  These spirits continue to offer ghost hunters more questions around the strange apparitions and unexplained moving objects.

My Parents and Grandmother at the Jerome Grand Hotel
My Parents and Grandmother at the Jerome Grand Hotel

Check out the haunted Jerome Grand Hotel, an abandoned hospital with a history of ghostly sightings, and fantastic Asylum restaurant! Perfect for special occasions, we celebrated my Grandmother’s 90th birthday at the Asylum (She loved it!).

I have wonderful childhood memories of ice cream and sweets from the Fudge shop.

There is a glass blowing studio, and a variety of museums throughout the town.  We stopped into the recently updated Motor Museum to admire the vintage auto garage and eclectic mix of artist shops.  

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Most of the historic buildings have descriptive signs like the old Bartlett Hotel.

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The former mining town has an interesting history of brothels, most famous is the House of Joy.

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As you should expect from an historic old mining town on the side of a hill, roads and walk ways are steep and uneven.

Jerome, Arizona mountain views with JenThereDoneThat

Parking can be a bit tricky, many of the roads are one way and narrow.  Drive up the hill on 89A past the town, there is a spectacular scenic view to stop for photo op and turn around back to Jerome.  Worth the extra couple miles for the view!  Even better at sunset!

At 5,000 ft elevation, bring a warm shirt for layering.  It could be 70 degrees F (21 degrees Celsius) part of the day, then drop to 50 degrees F (10 degrees Celsius), and back again.  During our visit a storm rolled in, light rain, then back to warm and sunny, but could just as likely snow!

Do not miss this quirky little town in Northern Arizona!

41 thoughts on “Spirited Ghost Town of Jerome Arizona”

  1. I had never heard of this town before! It seems like there is a lot of history here and a lot of interesting bits like the brothel. Did you get to walk around here at night? I imagine it could get a bit eerie at night.

    1. After sunset is still pretty cool in town, not too scary. There are only a few hotels and they book up fast, so you have to plan way in advance to spend the night in Jerome on a weekend or holiday.

  2. I don’t know much about the States but I certainly have never heard of Jerome until now. Sounds like an interesting place! Although I’m not sure if I want to visit if it’s haunted 😛

    1. It is pretty cool, and safe during the day (ghosts mostly come out at night). The US is so massive, there are so many places to explore. I love the Wild, Wild, West charm!

  3. What an interesting little place. I’ve never heard of it, but I absolutely love the Southwest! I also love that you celebrated your grandma’s 90th birthday in the asylum cafe! Too cute! Looks like a fun town to explore!

  4. This looks like a pretty awesome town full of character. I still have yet to really explore the western USA but once I do I’ll try to pop in here! Arizona is a must for sure!

  5. Thanks for the introduction to Jerome! We were in South Arizona for a year recently though didn’t have a chance to explore much of the north of the State – I would love to get back thought here’s so much to still see … and we love abandoned historic towns so Jerome sounds right up our alley!

    1. Arizona is a pretty big state, with so many cold towns to explore. I hope you make it back around to check out Jerome and some of the other off the beaten path towns of Northern Arizona.

  6. This is a very interesting little town, it looks directly out of a spooky movie!
    I’m not the bravest person though, I don’t think I’m up for ghosts! haha

  7. Whose idea was it to have your grandmother’s 90 birthday at a former asylum? She sounds like a character!! Interesting place – formerly the wickedest!

    1. My Grandmother loves this little ghost town! We have been going there for decades. And, yes, she is quite the character!

  8. Wow an actual ghost town. This is great. I am not so sure about staying in the hospital hotel though but I am glad that you had a nice time eating in the Asylum!
    I love that this town is full of information. It is something different to visit on your travels.

  9. When I think of a Ghost Town I think of like tumbleweed and no one around. This place looks awesome! I would love to wander around the town, then grab some of that wine and enjoy the view. Thanks for the tour!

    1. It is a weird little town! During the day, especially on weekends and holidays, it is bustling and busy (as busy as a small town can be). Mostly, it feels like you stepped back in time to an Old West Town, which is exactly what it was.

  10. I don’t think I’ve ever visited a ghost town quite like this one. I am always curious about towns that have haunted buildings and the glass blowing studio is something I would love to check out.

  11. I love ghost towns! We’ve made a habit of stopping in them on road trips here in California, and now I’m adding Jerome to the list if we end up road tripping out to Arizona. The views are incredible, and I can only imagine what it must feel like as the sun is setting on all of that history.

  12. I’ve never heard of Jerome, but it sounds like so much fun! I’m very interested in history and I would love to visit a ghost town. Also, I’m curious to try a Haunted Hamburger (mwahahaha!)

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