Sliding Jail and Hill. Jerome Arizona 1993
by Connie Fox
Title
Sliding Jail and Hill. Jerome Arizona 1993
Artist
Connie Fox
Medium
Photograph - Outdoor Color Photo
Description
This 1993 Kodak film image shows the old jail in the former mining town of Jerome, Arizona, USA. Jerome became a boomtown in 1876 when gold was discovered, then gradually turned into a ghost town. Eventually it became a favorite haunt for shoppers, art enthusiasts, and tourists. Someone corrected me and said this was the bank vault at the jail. Perhaps so. But when we took our tour, we were told it was the jail.
Jerome is literally built into the side of a mountain. In a mining incident years ago, the jail apparently relocated itself. Surprisingly the small building remained intact. At least it was intact in the summer of 1993, when I shot this picture. Now I'm told it's no longer there. Interesting, though, to try to picture oneself living here in the days of the Old West.
From a November 2013 picture two decades later, this tiny building was just a shell of its former self: two walls propped up by reinforcements. A plaque provided by the Jerome Historical Society explains the history of what it calls Jerome's Famous Sliding Jail:
_____
Back in 1905, the town jail was in the basement of what was then the Tony Kauzlarich house below the Dicus and Wagner Garage. Louis St. James was the Magistrate and Conservator of the Peace. What is believed to be Jerome's third jail was located in the town yard between Main Street and Hull Avenue. It pulled apart from the wood structure to which it was attached and in the mid-30s during the slides, it slowly crept 225 feet from its original location to settle in the middle of Hull Avenue. The road was altered to go around it. Legend has it that the jail continued to move to its final resting place here. However, in reality, it was eventually pushed from Hull Avenue to its present location where you see it today.
_____
I was also admonished by a fellow photographer that Jerome was not a gold-mining town but famous for its copper production. Since copper, we were told on our tour, is found in gold, I'll leave it to someone else to parse the words. Either way, tiny Jerome is a gem.
Copyright 1993-2014 Connie Steitz Fox
All Rights Reserved
Minolta Freedom Escort, Kodak film
Scanned and restored
You will find many restored Arizona film images in this Arizona Gallery. Although they are limited to smaller print sizes, they would make a beautiful grouping, perhaps on canvas, which arrives ready to hang. Many have the look of a painting, and most have been sized to fit the 5x7 greeting card format, making the cards easy to frame yourself. Available for commercial use too.
CONTESTS: A Top Finisher in the Historical Buildings contest, April 2023.
Uploaded
September 2nd, 2014
Statistics
Viewed 238 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 03/27/2024 at 9:56 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (1)
Edward Fielding
Such great history in this town! My wife had a conference in Phoenix and we took a day trip up to Jerome to photograph this unique town and the old mines. Wish I had more time to explore the area. Still looks like the whole place is ready to tumble down the hill.
Connie Fox replied:
I lived in Arizona for seven years--high school and college--and we returned on a family vacation. It's a fascinating state, and Jerome especially so. Sounds like you might need a return trip.