We decided to go to Jerome again today to see the big mansion because it is only open on the weekends. It was built in 1916 by James Douglas, the owner of the mines. It is 8700 square feet and cost $150,000. That was very expensive for those days, think of what that would compute in today's dollars. It is big, even in today's standards. Can't imagine what the towns people thought back in the day. Most lived in shacks
Partial view of the front of the mansion. Stamp mill used in mining is on display in the front yard.
This central vacuum system was found in the basement. It served the whole house. Can't imagine having one in a house built in 1916. Most people don't have them now. Mr. Douglas was way before his time.
I gave up on downloading more pictures. These took me several hours. There were a few things on display that I wanted to tell you about. I know everyone thinks their taxes are high, that is nothing compared to what I read at one of the displays. In 1929 they stated a 3% sales tax on a 10 cent item. Seems a tad high
In 1860, they imported round bottom bottles from Ireland. It protected the cork form drying out and forced peole to drink the whole thing before putting it down. People drank alot faster and bought more that way. Seems the tavern owners were pretty smart. Had never heard of this before. I took a picture of it but gave up showing it to you.
The mine was built directly under Jerome. Over the years, because of blasting, lots of buildings have been destroyed from sliding down the hills. I would have hated to be in one that started sliding down . YIKES Look out below! In fact, the town is still sliding down. A few inches a year. No wonder Mr. Douglas built his mansion outside of town. He was no fool.
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