There’s a lot of history up on the mountain in Jerome.
Next weekend, hundreds of people will get the chance to peek into the homes of the men and women who lived there and continue to do so.
Although the population is greatly reduced from the mining town’s heyday of 15,000 residents, leaving many crumbling structures hanging on the side of the hill, many have been maintained or restored.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Jerome Historic Home and Building Tour, the biggest event for the Jerome Chamber of Commerce.
Many other local organizations participate as well, from the Arizona Rangers, who help direct traffic, to the local firefighters, who get the roads looking their best before the crowds arrive.
Set for Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17, spokeswoman Donna Chesler said that the event is expected to bring around 1,500 people into the former Billion Dollar Copper Camp to tour a selection of seven homes.
“It’s brought as many as 1,800 people before,” Chesler said.
The houses range from 1898, when the town was incorporated, all the way up to a more modern addition, built in the 1980s and inspired by Arcosanti.
“There’s a good representation of houses from throughout the different eras,” said Deni Phinney, a tour organizer.
The first house on the tour, built in 1898, fell victim to a landslide after the mines closed, sitting for decades filled with mud and dirt before it was made livable again.
Another home is the 1914 house built for a surgeon who once worked in the town and later belonged to local furniture designer Tim McClellan.
Today it belongs to John and Jennifer Schroeder. The couple moved in to the home in March.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, May 6, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
