Newspaper The Jerome Chronicle (Jerome, Yavapai County, Ariz.) 1895-1895
About The Jerome Chronicle (Jerome, Yavapai County, Ariz.) 1895-1895
The mining camp of Jerome, named after a member of the United Verde Copper Company, was described by the Arizona Daily Star in April 1883 as being “convenient to the great mines of the district, in the midst of a beautiful pine forest.” Between 1890 and 1900, Jerome’s population rose from a couple hundred people to almost 3,000, and in the midst of that boom, the Jerome Chronicle debuted on March 2, 1895. Published by Herbert E. Wilcox, who had been involved in mining in Arizona, the Chronicle was Jerome’s first newspaper, which the Mohave County Miner said in March 1895 would “fill a long-felt want in the bonanza copper camp.”
Wilcox stated in the first issue of his four-page weekly newspaper that it would be “independent and conservative on all political issues,” that he was an advocate for Arizona statehood, and that he supported the interests of mining, farming, and raising livestock in Jerome and the surrounding Verde Valley. The masthead noted: “The impression has gone out that Jerome is a copper camp, when in reality it is a GOLD and SILVER camp.” Within a month, this message was replaced with excitement, “RAILROAD!”, and the prospect of the first section of a line between Jerome and Flagstaff being completed “before the snow falls this year.” The newspaper regularly reported on progress of surveying and planning for that rail route, the importance of which was proclaimed in the Chronicle on April 6, 1895: “Jerome Holds the Key to Arizona’s Mining Checker Board.”
Mining news was emphasized, from a detailed report of mines near Jerome, to an in-depth description of the United Verde Copper Company’s property and operations, from the boiler house to the boarding house. In one column, Wilcox investigated a rumor about a possible strike at the mine, prompted by workers’ dissatisfaction with the boarding house, but he reported it to be unsubstantiated and urged workers not to strike.
While a good portion of the newspaper was syndicated columns and serialized fiction reprinted from other papers, the Chronicle did provide a local focus. Readers could find a listing of the cost of local goods: eggs were 30 to 50 cents per dozen, apples 10 cents per pound, and roasted coffee 25 to 50 cents per pound. A monthly “Roll of Honor” provided by teacher Ida F. Williams listed the names of Jerome students who had not been absent or tardy that month; in March 1895, that was six students out of 64 enrolled, but in May, only five students out of 56. The Chronicle reported on new laws passed in the Territory relating to, among others, the construction of wagon bridges and lowering taxes on billiard tables.
The Jerome Chronicle lasted only a few months, and in his last column bidding farewell, Wilcox said this was “for want of patronage.” The first item in the Chronicle ‘s “Local News” that day: “DIED—In Jerome June 1st, 1895, The Jerome Chronicle. Internment in the Newspaper graveyard. Please omit posies.”
Research provided by the University of Arizona Libraries
About this Newspaper
Title
- The Jerome Chronicle (Jerome, Yavapai County, Ariz.) 1895-1895
Dates of Publication
- 1895-1895
Created / Published
- Jerome, Yavapai County, Ariz. : H.E. Wilcox, 1895.
Headings
- - Jerome (Ariz.)--Newspapers
- - Yavapai County (Ariz.)--Newspapers
- - Arizona--Jerome
- - Arizona--Yavapai County
- - United States--Arizona--Yavapai--Jerome
Genre
- Newspapers
Notes
- - Weekly
- - Vol. 1, no. 1 (Mar. 2, 1895)-v. 1, no. 14 (June 1, 1895).
Medium
- volumes : illustrations
Library of Congress Control Number
- sn94052358
OCLC Number
- 30559783
Additional Metadata Formats
Availability
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