Jerome Junction, ghost town in Arizona
Jerome Junction is an abandoned settlement in Yavapai County, Arizona, founded in the 1890s as a railroad junction point. The site contains old station foundations, railroad equipment, and ruins that tell of its former role as a transportation hub.
Jerome Junction was founded in 1894 and served as a junction between the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix Railway and the narrow-gauge United Verde & Pacific line. The site lost its importance in the 1920s when the narrow-gauge track was replaced by a standard-gauge line and rail activity in the region declined.
Jerome Junction grew around the railroad, which shaped daily life for those who lived here. The site shows how closely communities in this region were connected to rail transport and how the railway defined local identity.
The site is accessible via E Perkinsville Road from State Route 89 near Chino Valley. The old railroad bed can be explored on foot or by bicycle along the Chino Valley Peavine Trail, where motorized vehicles are not permitted.
The site was briefly known as Copper Siding before becoming part of Chino Valley, showing how quickly railroad towns could shift their boundaries and purpose. These multiple name changes within decades reflect the instability linked to rail operations in the region.
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