Tellez family moved to Jerome, AZ, USA
Pedro Tellez worked in copper mines in Mexico. He was recruited by United Verde to relocate to Jerome to be a foreman for them there.
Pedro, his wife, and two children moved in 1922 to a nice two-story house on Holly Avenue. Rose said that the house had a wonderful front screened-porch with a beautiful view of the desert, but being young kids, they didn't appreciate it at the time. Isabelle said that everyone had a bed, many siblings shared two to a bed. When the weather was nice, she said that the boys slept on the screened-porch.
Five of the children were born in Jerome: Ruben in United Verde Hospital #3 and the younger four in #4. The Tellez family stayed in Jerome until 1936.
Pedro bought a home for them in what was then the "Austrian" neighborhood. He deliberately did not buy where many of the Mexicans lived. Most of them were poor and their neighborhood reflected that. Pedro bought in a "good" neighborhood--in town, neighbors took good care of their homes, neighbors had money so things stayed nice.
Other family members moved to Jerome, also. Ruben had his maternal grandmother and step-grandfather in town along with a couple of uncles and aunts who had moved from Mexico to Jerome.
Pedro, his wife, and two children moved in 1922 to a nice two-story house on Holly Avenue. Rose said that the house had a wonderful front screened-porch with a beautiful view of the desert, but being young kids, they didn't appreciate it at the time. Isabelle said that everyone had a bed, many siblings shared two to a bed. When the weather was nice, she said that the boys slept on the screened-porch.
Five of the children were born in Jerome: Ruben in United Verde Hospital #3 and the younger four in #4. The Tellez family stayed in Jerome until 1936.
Pedro bought a home for them in what was then the "Austrian" neighborhood. He deliberately did not buy where many of the Mexicans lived. Most of them were poor and their neighborhood reflected that. Pedro bought in a "good" neighborhood--in town, neighbors took good care of their homes, neighbors had money so things stayed nice.
Other family members moved to Jerome, also. Ruben had his maternal grandmother and step-grandfather in town along with a couple of uncles and aunts who had moved from Mexico to Jerome.
Ruben was born in Jerome, AZ, a town named after Jenny Jerome's cousin, Eugene. Jenny married Lord Randolph Churchill. Winston was their son. Ruben trained during WWII in England and left for the D-Day invasion while Winston Churchill was Britain's prime minister--a Jerome connection from birth to death.
Jerome, AZ
Founded in 1876, Jerome was once the fourth largest city in the Arizona Territory. The population peaked at 15,000 in the 1920's. The Depression of the 1930's slowed the mining operation and the claim went to Phelps Dodge, who holds the claim today. World War II brought increased demand for copper, but after the war, demand slowed. Dependent on the copper market, Phelps Dodge Mine closed in 1953. The remaining 50 to 100 hardy souls promoted the town as a historic ghost town. In 1967 Jerome was designated a National Historic District by the federal government. Today Jerome is a thriving tourist and artist community with a population of about 450.
Source: http://www.azjerome.com
Jerome is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 353.
The presence of silver and copper has been known in the area around what is now Jerome since the Spanish colonial era when Arizona was part of New Spain. The elevation is over 5,000 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2.)
A mining town named Jerome was established on the side of Cleopatra Hill in 1883. It was named for Eugene Murray Jerome, a New York investor who owned the mineral rights and financed mining there. Eugene Jerome never visited his namesake town. Jerome was incorporated as a town on March 8, 1899. Local merchant and rancher William Munds was the first mayor. The town housed the workers in the nearby United Verde Mine, which was to produce over 1 billion dollars in copper, gold and silver over the next 70 years.
Jerome became a notorious "wild west" town, a hotbed of prostitution, gambling, and vice. On 5 February 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West".
United Verde Extension--UVX: In 1914, an exploration drift cut bonanza copper ore in "Rawhide Jimmy" Douglas's long-shot gamble to find the downfaulted extension of the great United Verde orebody. The United Verde Extension (or UVX) became a spectacularly profitable mine: during 1916 alone, the mine produced $10 million worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4 million was profit. The UVX paid $55 million in dividends during its life (1915–1938), and made Jimmy Douglas a very wealthy man. (UVX is where Ruben's father worked as a mine foreman.)
Douglas's theory was wrong: in later geological studies, the UVX turned out to be a completely separate orebody. It was never a part of the United Verde.
In 1915 the population of Jerome was estimated at 2,500.
By 1932 the price of copper had sunk to 5 cents per pound, and the United Verde closed until 1935, when Phelps Dodge bought the mine for $21 million. In 1938 the UVX, Jerome's second major mine, was mined out and closed.
Source: Jerome Mine Museum
Source: http://www.azjerome.com
Jerome is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 353.
The presence of silver and copper has been known in the area around what is now Jerome since the Spanish colonial era when Arizona was part of New Spain. The elevation is over 5,000 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2.)
A mining town named Jerome was established on the side of Cleopatra Hill in 1883. It was named for Eugene Murray Jerome, a New York investor who owned the mineral rights and financed mining there. Eugene Jerome never visited his namesake town. Jerome was incorporated as a town on March 8, 1899. Local merchant and rancher William Munds was the first mayor. The town housed the workers in the nearby United Verde Mine, which was to produce over 1 billion dollars in copper, gold and silver over the next 70 years.
Jerome became a notorious "wild west" town, a hotbed of prostitution, gambling, and vice. On 5 February 1903, the New York Sun proclaimed Jerome to be "the wickedest town in the West".
United Verde Extension--UVX: In 1914, an exploration drift cut bonanza copper ore in "Rawhide Jimmy" Douglas's long-shot gamble to find the downfaulted extension of the great United Verde orebody. The United Verde Extension (or UVX) became a spectacularly profitable mine: during 1916 alone, the mine produced $10 million worth of copper, silver and gold, of which $7.4 million was profit. The UVX paid $55 million in dividends during its life (1915–1938), and made Jimmy Douglas a very wealthy man. (UVX is where Ruben's father worked as a mine foreman.)
Douglas's theory was wrong: in later geological studies, the UVX turned out to be a completely separate orebody. It was never a part of the United Verde.
In 1915 the population of Jerome was estimated at 2,500.
By 1932 the price of copper had sunk to 5 cents per pound, and the United Verde closed until 1935, when Phelps Dodge bought the mine for $21 million. In 1938 the UVX, Jerome's second major mine, was mined out and closed.
Source: Jerome Mine Museum
United Verde Hospital #4
HISTORY OF THE JEROME GRAND HOTEL, formerly United Verde Hospital #4:
Perched above downtown Jerome high upon Cleopatra Hill is a haunted hotel – the Jerome Grand Hotel.
Originally, this building served as the United Verde Hospital #4, opened in 1927. Constructed by the United Verde Copper Company for its many employees and their families, the hospital was a much needed facility in a town that had grown to a population of some 15,000 people.
A show-place building, it was the highest structure in the Verde Valley and was the last major building constructed in Jerome. Built to last, the structure was of a fire-proof design and could withstand the many nearby mining blasts of up to 260,000 pounds. While other area buildings crumbled or slid down steep slopes caused by the mine blasting that sometimes could be felt as far away as Camp Verde, the 30,000 square foot hospital wasn’t fazed. The building was an engineering marvel, even by today’s standards, as it was constructed on a 50 degree slope.
By 1930, the five-story Spanish Mission style building and its facilities were written up as one of the most modern and well equipped hospitals in Arizona. But, like the Copper Company itself, the hospital couldn't survive once the copper deposits played out. The town’s people moved on to other opportunities and the hospital closed in 1950.
For the next 44 years it stood abandoned; however, until 1971, it continued to be maintained, just in case it was needed in an emergency situation. Then, for the next two decades, it sat silent and neglected. But, in 1994, the building was purchased by the Altherr family from the Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation and the restoration to its current glory as the Jerome Grand Hotel began. All effort was given to maintaining the interior and exterior integrity of the historic building and in 1996 it reopened as the Jerome Grand Hotel.
Source: http://www.tazps.com/grandhotel2.html
Perched above downtown Jerome high upon Cleopatra Hill is a haunted hotel – the Jerome Grand Hotel.
Originally, this building served as the United Verde Hospital #4, opened in 1927. Constructed by the United Verde Copper Company for its many employees and their families, the hospital was a much needed facility in a town that had grown to a population of some 15,000 people.
A show-place building, it was the highest structure in the Verde Valley and was the last major building constructed in Jerome. Built to last, the structure was of a fire-proof design and could withstand the many nearby mining blasts of up to 260,000 pounds. While other area buildings crumbled or slid down steep slopes caused by the mine blasting that sometimes could be felt as far away as Camp Verde, the 30,000 square foot hospital wasn’t fazed. The building was an engineering marvel, even by today’s standards, as it was constructed on a 50 degree slope.
By 1930, the five-story Spanish Mission style building and its facilities were written up as one of the most modern and well equipped hospitals in Arizona. But, like the Copper Company itself, the hospital couldn't survive once the copper deposits played out. The town’s people moved on to other opportunities and the hospital closed in 1950.
For the next 44 years it stood abandoned; however, until 1971, it continued to be maintained, just in case it was needed in an emergency situation. Then, for the next two decades, it sat silent and neglected. But, in 1994, the building was purchased by the Altherr family from the Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation and the restoration to its current glory as the Jerome Grand Hotel began. All effort was given to maintaining the interior and exterior integrity of the historic building and in 1996 it reopened as the Jerome Grand Hotel.
Source: http://www.tazps.com/grandhotel2.html
Mining Town Discrimination
"As to discrimination, it was huge, at least in the mining camps. The whites were called 'Americans' even if one was born in the US or of US ancestry, but had darker-than-white skin.
"In Jerome the schools WERE NOT segregated, but there was an elementary school in the Gulch, down the hill from Jerome, where a lot of the poor Mexicans lived. It was simply called the Gulch School. It consisted of the children of those living in that area, mostly Mexicans, but I'm sure some whites also.
"BUT, in the 1920's, the United Verde Mining Co, by whom a lot of this town was built, constructed entertainment for the mine workers and their families, one aspect of which were swimming pools: one for the "Americans" and one for the Mexicans. The Mexican pool was not well maintained and eventually closed. The mining company then created segregated times in which the "Americans" could swim, and times when "others" could swim.
"Not only were those of Mexican/Spanish descent discriminated against, there were other ethnic groups in town that had their own "areas", such as "Little Italy" where they congregated. Remember, often these areas were created from the immigrants themselves as a language enclave as a lot of them were just learning English. So, yes, there was great discrimination in Jerome, as in other mining towns of the west. At least the United Verde Co. tried to include all cultures in various aspects of the town."
Colleen Holt
Jerome Historical Society
email: April 19, 2012
Note: In interviews with Ruben's family, they said that their father, Pedro, was very prejudiced. An example they told about were neighbors who were Austrian. Pedro did not want his family doing anything with "those Austrians." But, the kids played with the Austrian kids anyway, when Pedro was at work. (interview: March 2012)
"In Jerome the schools WERE NOT segregated, but there was an elementary school in the Gulch, down the hill from Jerome, where a lot of the poor Mexicans lived. It was simply called the Gulch School. It consisted of the children of those living in that area, mostly Mexicans, but I'm sure some whites also.
"BUT, in the 1920's, the United Verde Mining Co, by whom a lot of this town was built, constructed entertainment for the mine workers and their families, one aspect of which were swimming pools: one for the "Americans" and one for the Mexicans. The Mexican pool was not well maintained and eventually closed. The mining company then created segregated times in which the "Americans" could swim, and times when "others" could swim.
"Not only were those of Mexican/Spanish descent discriminated against, there were other ethnic groups in town that had their own "areas", such as "Little Italy" where they congregated. Remember, often these areas were created from the immigrants themselves as a language enclave as a lot of them were just learning English. So, yes, there was great discrimination in Jerome, as in other mining towns of the west. At least the United Verde Co. tried to include all cultures in various aspects of the town."
Colleen Holt
Jerome Historical Society
email: April 19, 2012
Note: In interviews with Ruben's family, they said that their father, Pedro, was very prejudiced. An example they told about were neighbors who were Austrian. Pedro did not want his family doing anything with "those Austrians." But, the kids played with the Austrian kids anyway, when Pedro was at work. (interview: March 2012)
This K-8 school was built in the "Mexican Town" Walnut Gulch area. It was in the poorest area of Jerome, populated mainly by Mexican immigrants working the mines and their families; but it was not exclusively Mexican. Ruben's family did not live in this area. They lived on Holly Street which was and is definitely "in town."