Two sites vie for Best Small Town Museum

James S. Douglas built the Mansion on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine in 1916. Douglas designed the house as a hotel for mining officials and investors as well as for his own family. It featured a wine cellar, billiard room, marble shower, steam heat, and, much ahead of its time, a central vacuum system. This former home is now the museum of Jerome State Historic Park, devoted to history of the Jerome area and the Douglas family. The museum features historical exhibits of photographs, artifacts and minerals in addition to a video presentation and a 3-D model of the town with its underground mines. Photo courtesy of Jerome State Historic Park

Two Verde Valley attractions have made it into the top ten finalists for the title of “Best Small-Town Museum” in the annual USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards. The Sedona Heritage Museum in Uptown is in the top three finalists and the Douglas Mansion in Jerome State Historic Park is also in the running.

Sedona Heritage Museum Executive Director Nate Meyers’ pitch to voters echoed the lyrics to “You’re the Best,” by Joe Esposito, the theme song to the 1984 movie “The Karate Kid,” which was partially filmed in Sedona.

“Because we’re the best,” Meyers said. “We’re excited about just being nominated. It’s a cool thing. The writers from USA Today went across the country and put together these nominations, so I was a little surprised to hear from them last month. It’s an exciting thing to know that we’re recognized for the work we’re doing to preserve the community’s history. And it’s nice to see the response we’ve gotten already on social media from folks.”

Meyers added that it would be an honor to share a bit of the spotlight with the Douglas Mansion. “It’s amazing that out of all of the country, two museums of the Verde Valley made the list,” he said.

“We [have] a deep and rich history,” Jerome State Historic Park manager Marc Mazzella said, explaining why people should vote for the park. “[We’re] a small mining town set on the side of a mountain here, to show people that wherever money is to be made, there’s no limit to where people will build a town.”

The mansion was built by James S. Douglas in 1916 above his Little Daisy Mine. While Mazzella said it’s a small museum compared to the Louvre, it is also packed with the history of Jerome between the years of 1876 and 1953, when the town supposedly became a ghost town, along with a geology room.

Voting is open online at 10best.usatoday.com/awards/travel/best-small-town-museum-2024 until Monday, Feb. 12, at noon eastern time, and the winners will be announced on Friday, Feb. 23.

Joseph K Giddens

Joseph K. Giddens grew up in southern Arizona and studied natural resources at the University of Arizona. He later joined the National Park Service in many different roles focusing on geoscience throughout the West. Drawn to deep time and ancient landscapes he’s worked at: Dinosaur National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Badlands National Park and Saguaro National Park among several other public land sites. Prior to joining Sedona Red Rock News, he worked for several Tucson outlets as well as the Williams-Grand Canyon News and the Navajo-Hopi Observer. He frequently is reading historic issues of the Tombstone Epithet newspaper and daydreaming about rockhounding. Contact him at jgiddens@larsonnewspapers.com or (928) 282-7795 ext. 122.

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