Location: | 2 km north of Jerome, AZ. From Phoenix I-17 north, Cottonwood exit. Turn left, west, to Cottonwood, then follow the signs to Jerome. At the stop sign in Jerome, turn right, at the hairpin turn leading to Prescott, go straight on the dirt road. Signposted. |
Open: | All year daily 9-17. [2007] |
Fee: | Adults USD 4. [2007] |
Classification: | Gold Mine |
Light: | Incandescent |
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Address: | Gold King Mine, 200 Main Street, P.O. Box 125, Jerome, AZ 86331, Tel: +1-928-634-0053. |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1875 | prospectors find silver in the San Carlos Apache Reservation. |
Northern Arizona is rich in various ores. First silver deposits were discovered and mined, then copper was mined, and finally gold became important. The Haynes Copper Company dug a 400 m deep shaft in search of copper, but hit gold instead.
The Gold King Mine Museum is located at the site of an old mining community named Haynes, a bustling suburb of Jerome in 1890. The remains of this village form a sort of open air museum showing the typical architecture and the mining equipment of the time. There is a saw mill and the obligatory gift shop offering gold panning. The village is sometimes called a ghost town, which seems to be a local tradition....
The tour of the village also includes a visit to an underground gold mine. Here the visitors can walk through self guided, and see the typical mining techniques used in the area. This mine is rather young, it was dug by the owner during the last ten years. The original shaft of the Haynes Copper Company gold mine is not open to the public.
The place is maintained and owned by Don Robertson, who looks as if he comes straigh from a Western movie. He is continually working on the old rusty machinery to make it running. He has old cars, engines, the saw mill is powered by an 1943 U.S. submarine generator engine, and he dug the mine himself over ten years.