Nearly 100,000 visitors come to the Douglas Mansion in Jerome, Arizona, every year to learn about the mining history and geology of this quaint town on Cleopatra Hill.
The Douglas Mansion, also known as Jerome State Historic Park, has impressive panoramic photographs, numerous historic exhibits and an engaging video presentation that gives visitors a flavor of what life was like when Jerome was a booming mining town. But the sprawling hilltop structure with its stunning views is more than a museum; it is also an architectural landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.When it was built in 1916, the Douglas Mansion was the grandest house in town; indeed one of the premier homes in all of Arizona.James Stuart Douglas, the owner of the Little Daisy Mine, wanted an impressive residence to entertain his industrial friends and mining officials. Douglas, true to his Scottish roots, kept close watch on his purse when it came to personal expenses (even wearing tattered and mended clothes to save a few pennies). But he thought nothing of spending $150,000 on a technological palace, equipped with turn-of-the-century innovations, such as steam heat, electricity and an Arco Wand central vacuum system that still works today. In its heyday, the Douglas Mansion featured 23 rooms, including a billiard room, library and a gracious living room that was the size of a small home in Jerome—more than 1,400 square feet.A few of the home’s furnishings remain. Visitors will enjoy seeing the square grand piano made of rosewood and mahogany and a quarter-sawn oak pool table with a maple and ebony veneer. When the Little Daisy Mine closed in 1938, the Douglas Mansion was no longer used as a residence. In the 1960s, after trying unsuccessfully to sell the mansion for $40,000 (a quarter of its building cost), the Douglas family donated the property to the State of Arizona. It opened as the Jerome State Historic Park in 1965. The public has been enjoying it ever since.
-- by Sylvia Somerville
Douglas Mansion Scavenger Hunt
When you visit the Douglas Mansion, why not make the visit a scavenger hunt and search for these 10 items:
♦ 3,100 pound azurite and malachite rock ♦ Bitters bottles ♦ Drilling machine ♦ Griffin from Great Britain’s House of Commons, which was presented to James Douglas’ son (Lewis) when he was ambassador to Great Britain in the 1940s ♦ Fluorescent rock display ♦ French china copa that James Douglas gave to Aurelia Gonzales ♦ Model railroad ♦ Ore-grinding arrastra, a machine that dates back to the Middle East ♦ Photograph of the Montana Hotel, at one time the most luxurious hotel in Arizona ♦ Three-dimensional model of Jerome in 1937, which shows its underground mines, including fault activity and dug-out areas.
