“Shortly after 2 o’clock Sunday afternoon, Jerome was shaken by a heavy explosion December 20, 1925. Windows were blown out, plaster was jarred loose, and doors were blown open or off their hinges.”
The Verde Tunnel & and Smelter Railroad from Clarkdale to Jerome ran from 1919 until 1953.
“William B. Hellings & Co. called a meeting at Phoenix” during September of 1873 “for the purpose of raising funds to open up a new road through Black Canyon to Prescott and the Verde Valley.
"There is no doubt that a great abundance of rich mineral deposits were taken from the mines of Arizona by a past civilization.”
The first permanent structures in the area that would become Jerome in 1883 were at the camps of prospectors and miners where log cabins were constructed. Not only did the cabins provide shelter, they provided a place to store mining tools and equipment.
The story about a gold mine in the Sycamore Canyon area is very old. The rich vein had been discovered by Apaches who showed it to some Spaniards who dug a tunnel and extracted rose quartz containing gold.
Wagon trains brought many settlers to the Verde Valley during 1875. Their first Sunday meeting was held in the shade of the largest cottonwood tree near the home of Parson James Clawson Bristow on Oct. 3, 1875.
Construction of the Clemenceau School by the United Verde Extension Mining Company (UVX) began in 1923. The modern design and ideas were due to the efforts and involvement of UVX General Manager George Kingdon. The school became a favorite project for several company employees and many others did their bit.
The Sutler Store, located a short distance outside the military post of Camp Verde, was a civilian enterprise on the large Camp Verde Military Reservation.
The mining and smelting companies sold land on a conditional basis with restrictions and easements attached. Violations (complaints, lawsuits, etc.) meant that the property would revert to the company. In residential subdivisions, use of the property for business purposes was often prohibited. By the 1920s sometimes there was a minimum cost or size of the dwelling and outhouses were not permitted.