Arizona road trip: Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome, Verde Valley azcentral.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from azcentral.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
True West Magazine
Jennie Bauters aka “Belgian Jennie” arrived in New York City in 1896 with her 14-year-old son and migrated to Chicago. Three months later she left him with the nuns at St. Ignatius School in Chicago. She took train to Ash Fork, Arizona then hopped another for Jerome. She took $1,000 and bought three lots on East Main Street and opened a brothel and saloon.
On Christmas Eve, 1897 a fire broke out that destroyed ten buildings including Jennies. She re-built and on September 11, 1898 another fire on Cleopatra Hill and 100 buildings were and a few months later, on April 21, 1899 another fire destroyed her house again.
Posts From The Road: Downtown Jerome, Arizona - 7:41 am
Jerome and Cleopatra Hill: Jerome, Ariz., sits on the side of Cleopatra Hill in central Arizona overlooking the Verde Valley. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Switch-Backs: Much of Jerome, Ariz., consists of a series of switch-back turns as the main street through town winds its way up and down the steep hillside. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Formerly of Los Alamos
Jerome is a town in central Arizona that has a storied past, which has led to its eclectic and artistic population today.
Jerome sits on the steep slope of Cleopatra Hill at an elevation of 5,200 feet. It was known as “the wickedest town in the west” during the copper mining era. Jerome is built on top of what was Arizona’s largest copper mine and the people living there reflected the rugged lifestyle and antics of that day.