Jerome State Historic Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, US, featuring the Douglas Mansion, built in 1916 by a family of influential mining entrepreneurs in

Jerome, Arizona Jerome is a town in the Black Hills of Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome is located more than above sea level. It is about north of Phoenix alo ...

, a mining region in the northeast of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

, east

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

. A

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

is located in the old Douglas Mansion. Jerome State Historic Park reopened on October 14, 2010, after being closed since February 27, 2009, because of budget cuts and the need to repair the historic mansion. Renovation and stabilization were funded by a state heritage grant and donations from the Douglas family. The park is open on a seven-day schedule thanks to additional funding raised by Yavapai County, the city of Jerome, and the Jerome Historical Society.

Douglas Mansion

The Douglas Mansion has been a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

in Jerome since 1916, when Jimmy Douglas built it on the hill just above his Little Daisy Mine. 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 A central vacuum cleaner (also known as built-in or ducted) is a type of vacuum cleaner appliance, installed into a building as a semi-permanent fixture. Central vacuum systems are designed to remove dirt and debris from homes and buildings, sen ...

. Douglas was most proud of the fact that the house was constructed of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

bricks that were made on the site. The house is the largest adobe structure in Arizona. He also built the Little Daisy Hotel near the mine as a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or universi ...

for the miners. The

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

structure still stands. It was recently remodeled into a private residence. The old mansion is now a museum devoted to history of the Jerome area and the Douglas family. The museum features exhibits of photographs, mining artifacts, and

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

s in addition to a video presentation and a 3-D model of the town with its

underground mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

s. One room, the Douglas library, is restored as a

period room A period room is a display that represents the interior design and decorative art of a particular historical social setting usually in a museum. Though it may incorporate elements of an individual real room that once existed somewhere, it is usually ...

. There are more mining artifacts outside along with a picnic area offering a panoramic view of the

Verde Valley The Verde Valley ( yuf-x-yav, Matkʼamvaha; es, Valle Verde) is a valley in central Arizona in the United States. The Verde River runs through it. The Verde River is one of Arizona's last free-flowing river systems. It provides crucial habita ...

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

, and the

red rocks of Sedona The Schnebly Hill Formation is a section of red bed deposits found at the Colorado Plateau, near Sedona, Arizona. It is a dark red sandstone, from to thick. It lies between Coconino Sandstone and the older Hermit Formation. It is near the Supa ...

–

Oak Creek Canyon Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty. State Route 89A enters the canyon o ...

region.

History

In 1962 the sons of Jimmy Douglas donated the Douglas Mansion to the State of Arizona. The Jerome State Historic Park opened in 1965. It has continued to develop its exhibits and expand its collection of historic artifacts and archival material. The park's

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

is to interpret the history of the Douglas family and the history of Jerome in the

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

era.Yavapai Heritage Roundup: Artifacts – Jerome State Historic Park

Facilities

* Historic mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places * Antique mining equipment * Mineral, ore, geology and mine-model displays * History exhibits, including many historic photographs * Video presentations * Picnic area with tables, restrooms and red-rock views * Parking area

References

External links

Jerome State Historic Park
{{authority control 1957 establishments in Arizona History museums in Arizona History of mining in the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Mining museums in Arizona Museums in Yavapai County, Arizona Parks in Yavapai County, Arizona Prescott National Forest Protected areas established in 1957 State parks of Arizona Houses in Yavapai County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Yavapai County, Arizona

Douglas Mansion

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links