As Tim and I were driving through Jerome yesterday to have lunch at the Haunted Hamburger a small wood sign caught our attention. It simply said "The real ghost town - one mile". How could we pass this up so we made the turn and started down the road. Then we came across another sign that said "Where the pavement ends the old west begins. Gold King Mine and Ghost Town one mile". We contiuned our journey. As we got closer to the ghost town we saw a sign that said Haynes, Az with the poputulation count through out the years. All of a sudden we hit the dirt road and started seeing old rusted vehicles...mostly trucks parked along the road! What were we getting into it? We pulled into a make shift parking lot and saw the wooden store front with the sign to enter through the gift shop. What was going on and what were we actually entering? Can you say SUCKERS? Yup, they got us. Gold King mine was real and Haynes, AZ is a real ghost town. It was all brought back to life 30 years ago when owner Don Robertson moved to the area and started building a town where he could look and feel like an old west prospector (he does) and fulfill his real destiny, saving old motors! Of course, we did not know any of this until after we paid and walked through the entire ghost town. It is well worth the entrance fee of $5.25 a person. Haynes, AZ was a suburb of Jerome founded in 1890. The Haynes Copper Company began digging a mine shaft that ended up being 1200 ft deep. As they were looking for copper they struck gold instead. Haynes was a mining town that at one time had a population of 350 and even had their own post office from 1908 - 1922. When the mine closed so did the town and Haynes was a true ghost town until 1982 when Don worked his magic. The town is an assortment of ramshackle buildings, an old mine shaft and a huge array of rusted machinery. Some of the buildings are original but some others were built for the town and some were brought in from other areas. The school house was brought in from Flagstaff. The clapboard house on the hill is an original building from the 1890 Haynes. It was primarily a boarding house but did serve as a bordella at one time. The Blacksmith shop and of course the mine are also original. Most of the equipment, engines, etc run. After all, Don feels it is his mission in life to save motors. So, eventhough we got "sucked in" it was well worth the time spent looking all around the town and skipping lunch. If you come visit Jerome save an hour or two and visit Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.
Today, we are headed for the Grand Canyon and after the snow that northern AZ got over the week end we may be seeing it with snow. In my opinion...that is when the Grand Canyon is its prettiest!
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