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Clarkdale’s
Old-Fashioned,
Historic Charm
There is a one-way
bridge on the outskirts of Clarkdale, not far from the town
center, that is on the National Register of Historic Places. It
was built in 1917—150 feet long, 20 feet wide—for a cost of
$18,000. It is one of
many remnants of the early days of this company town.
“You can walk back in time in Clarkdale,” notes Lisa
O’Neill, a local champion. “It’s
as if a little piece of
Americana
was saved and put aside.”
Clarkdale was
founded in 1912 by the United Verde Copper Company on a sloping
mesa at the foot of the
Black Hills
—the same year that a smelter was built on the
Verde River
to treat copper ore from the company’s mines in Jerome. It was
designed to house company employees in a very controlled
environment. Named after the company’s founder and owner Senator
William A. Clark, Clarkdale cost several million dollars to build.
Until the smelter
closed in 1952, the United Verde Cooper Company did in fact
control every facet of town life through its subsidiaries. By
1918, it had built 320 brick-and-concrete houses (most in the
craftsman or mission style) for about 600 families. More houses
followed .
Clarkdale was built
on three levels. At
the top, was the business district, with municipal buildings, a
library, clubhouse, schools and the finest homes, which were
rented to the town’s most important families. The second-level
homes were designated for blue-collar workers, and on the
bottom—on the banks of the
Verde River
, were dwellings for Mexican laborers.
Renters paid by the room, with a surcharge for baths and
showers. The average monthly cost was about $16.
Many of these
historic structures still stand, contributing to Clarkdale’s
small-town charm.
Main Street
, with its wide streets and sidewalks, is very walkable.
At one end is St.
Cecelia’s Catholic mission, which hasn’t changed much in a
century.
In the town center,
there is a lovely little park for picnics and town events,
especially around the holidays.
It has a grandstand-style
gazebo that stages occasional ceremonies and concerts..
For Clarkdale’s
2008 Independence Day celebration, the park will be the site of
children’s games, fire engine rides and an ice-cream social.
Other events for the town’s old-fashioned 4th
of July will include a pancake breakfast (hosted by the Clarkdale
Police Department and Fire District) and a children’s parade.
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