Jerome is a fun place to visit, with incredible panoramic views as well. The 35 mile drive from Prescott over Mingus Mountain gives you 158 curves. Quite the driving experience.
A great channel. I grew up in the small mining town of Mammoth, pretty close to Winkelman and Hayden. Thank you for sharing this with us. I just subscribed!!
Really enjoyed this!! I grew up on a ranch 20 miles from Winkelman/Hayden and remember when both towns were booming...Winkelman actually had three thriving grocery stores in the 1960's, only one still in operation, as you saw. Favorite of these towns has to be Jerome- lots of charm and nostalgia remaining there. ❤
Congratulations on #400 and almost 40k (well-deserved) subs!! Hayden was really something - what struck me was how many of those homes probably looked incredible, especially landscape-wise, before they were abandoned. Jerome just looks awesome - I'm imagining coffee or adult beverages on one of those terraces, looking at those views - wow...❤❤. The old buildings are the best, and I love all the wrought iron gates, etc. Can I tell you, your channel has been my happy spot this week (happier than usual) - it was a difficult work week, and watching your content lifted my spirits a ton - so thank you!! 🙏🎉
As. Teenager in the 60s, Jerome was truly an abandoned/ghost town - very eerie. Not so sure its tourist reincarnation is good. Huge difference. Thanks for the video tour.
This was nice to see (hello warm temps and sunshine ) and LOVE the music you put with this. We are buried with snow for a week now here in Missouri 😢. We have been to Jerome, Arizona many many times the past 25 years and such good memories there and it was nice to see it again ❤, Thank you!😊
This is very interesting. I like 2 towns for 2 different reasons. Hayden because of the history of mining towns. The buildings are beautiful in their ways. The second is Jerome. The scenic drive you did in an earlier video was a nice ride. Driving through Jerome and seeing the view was worth my time watching twice. Thank you so much.
Arizona is one of my favorite states to visit. Would love to live there someday but don’t think it will happen. I actually love the weather there especially during the winter. Thanks for the tour of these places.
My family has lived in Duncan, AZ for 5 generations. My grandpa went to the Mexican school until high school when desegregation finally happened. His uncle worked at the Lazy B Ranch as a cowboy. The school is a Title I school and is D rated. Also if you are not part of a certain church, you will always be an outsider there. There is a reason why it is so tiny.
John, this was an interesting video. The two towns I liked were number five and four. They looked like really nice small towns.. My Mother, sister and I went to the Grand Canyon many years ago and I don't remember Tusayna. Of course as I said it was many years ago (early 1970s, I think). Did a lot of traveling in that decade. Mom and I went to California in March of 1978 and stopped for a few days in Tucson because she found out she had a relative living near there. He worked with a search and rescue group when he was younger. Also my Mom, sister, brother and I visited Tucson in 1972. We camped in a campground outside of Tucson and visited the Arizona Sonora Desert museum, which has grown huge since we were there. See how many memories you brought back with this small Arizona towns video? Thank you for the trip and the memories it brought back. Happy trails to you and God bless.
I am from Kearny, just down the road from Hayden and Winkelman. I actually worked in the concentrator shown behind the Hayden pool for a time. Those towns have a very proud past, and even now, there is a strong sense of family there. As tough as it looks in the towns, please remember that very good people still live there, and are proud to be from there.
Oddly in Arizona's expanding East Valley (Valley of the Sun), there's one little settlement that has become nothing more than a dirt parking lot off the side of the Superstition Freeway. According to photos I found online, back in the 1930's and 40's, Florence Junction was a small berg that even had it's own airport. When I was a kid in the valley back in the 80's, it was just an old gas station with a few buildings in the back. Then in the 90's, the station was leveled and a new travel plaza was built a couple miles to the east. But then the Superstition Freeway built out and bypassed the truckstop which I last knew sits abandoned in the middle of the desert. Another small settlement that no longer exist as it did when I was a kid was Childs, Arizona. It was an isolated settlement at the bottom of the Verde River that served the now historic powerplant. The last time I checked on Google Earth, it was just a scattering of cement pads.
@@TravelwithaWiseguy As I've watched your program, I keep wondering how many of the hundreds of dots you've investigated (especially the places that no longer exist) will virtually be lost to history?
I remember Jerome. What a great place. I feel sorry for the people in Hayden. It would be so depressing to see the town disintegrate, however, there were some bright spots with a few very nice buildings. Love the video! I live outside of a small town. I think small towns are fascinating.
Hayden kind of reminds one not only of Picher Oklahoma, but also Galena Kansas before it began to be rehabilitated years ago. It also was littered w/ abandoned buildings. Good video John, looking ahead to the next.🙏🇺🇸 Stay Safe and Be Blessed my Friend.
Jerome has always been a favorite of mine and I would always prowl through whenever I could starting in the 60s right up until today. We investigated the derelict Little Daisy hotel years before someone turned it into their home. Grabbing a brew in the Spirit Room in 1969 was different because we were the only patrons and the only sounds were the whisting wind and the clock on the wall ticking, it was truly a ghost town back then.
I still love Jerome but it's gotten way to "touristy" in the last several years. BTW, I remember the oldhigh school at the lower edge of town being open and having students.
Very nicely done excellent photography As an AZ resident that loves traveling the backroads and small towns; you do an excellent travelogue Go through Duncan a lot and you gave some very good stop and stare photos of the buildings Love your channel You are excellent at editing and photography Thank you
Used to deliver small loads of freight from Pheonix and then Flagstaff (less than truckload) too big for UPS/Fed Ex maybe a pallet load or two and have stopped and made deliveries in everyone of these towns.
Most of the music is from UA-cam’s free music library. I put the specific songs in the description of the video so you can usually search them on YT if you want!
I was born in Jerome and baptized in Holy Family Church by the pastor, Padre Atucha, a Claretian priest. My father also was born in Jerome. He was a miner for a short time before he enlisted in the Navy during World War Two. I still have flashes of memory, the snow, the board walk in the business district, and my grandmother taking me to Mass, walking up the stairs long and steep wooden stairs. Mingus Mountain and Daisy Hill.
In the 70's Jerome was an actual ghost town with maybe 50 people living there and they I guess were mostly artists. But there wasn't really very many liveable places. It was really creepy and the roads were really bad.
I drove thru Hayden around Thanksgiving. I didn’t know its story. But it all makes sense with the huge mines that I drove past. Thank you. I’m staying for 6 months outside of Superior working at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I travel full time and I’d say Superior has been doing a good job at revitalizing itself. But….they are a mining town also. :( If anyone is in that area…go eat and shop in Superior! Thx for your video.
Whenever you go to a town or city, if there is a mountain to view, you are always going to have a Mountain View business.. I don't think the town of Hayden actually has enough policeman to drive all those police cars.
Spent a year one night in Jerome area. It was warm that afternoon, froze all night. Flat tire on the bike. Fortunately an old hippy prospector took pity on me by mornings light and we hoisted the bike in his rusty old Chevy truck. Hauled to Flagstaff to a friends shop for a 20 dollar bill and case of Dr. Pepper. Lesson learned don't roll off on dirt side road lots of nails. Good grouping of some interesting place. I kinda like Duncan.
You really captured these small towns. I was fascinated. I have been to Arizona many times, most times flying in 20 to 30 years ago, sometimes driving- but it’s different and interesting to see what you find in these small towns. The last time I saw Jerome was decades ago and it is changing. All it takes in some small towns is one grand vision for the future put into action and they flourish.
My town has a population of 1,000 and can 'not' afford a police dept. How does Hayden afford a police dept with "5" vehicles? It has always irritated me as to how big industry ground up, spit out and abandoned such beautiful lands. One has to wonder what would happen to all the abandoned structures across the country if the population had not been dumbed down and so many restrictive regulations put in place. So many foundations left behind to rebuild and thrive... "In a perfect world".....
I think I read they have more police cars than policemen! It’s a strange and fascinating place. One of my favorites to learn about. The next 10-20 years will be really interesting.
Dear diary: Coach visited a contaminated town so keep an eye on him for any negative effects. He may exhibit odd behavior or his beard may stop growing! 😵💫
I grew up in Winkelman. People from this area are great. My childhood was amazing. The river was great in the summer, but you missed a big part of the history. Two huge floods (1983/93) led to half of the homes being demolished. It sucks, but it's just not the same. Like Andy Bernard said, "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you've actually left them."
My Mother's side of the family, the Hext side, homestead is outside of Duncan. My Grandpa Archie graduated from Duncan high school there in the 30s. Family plot is in the Duncan Cemetery.
Back when McDonald's had $1 drinks most places, I drove off from the McDonald's in Tusayan because they wanted like $2 for a drink. That was pretty sorry in hindsight considering we just got into the Grand Canyon for free because the computers were down!
I've said it before and I say it again. These videos are why I watch UA-cam. The best!😎👍
Aww that’s humbling 😊
I agree!
love that bridge in winkleman ,i hope they can continue to maintain it
Me too - really nice at 108 years old!
That was very interesting. Definitely different than your normal videos. Enjoyed it very much. Thank you as always.
Glad you enjoyed it! It was fun to explore these small AZ towns!
Jerome is a fun place to visit, with incredible panoramic views as well. The 35 mile drive from Prescott over Mingus Mountain gives you 158 curves. Quite the driving experience.
Awesome drive for sure!
A great channel. I grew up in the small mining town of Mammoth, pretty close to Winkelman and Hayden. Thank you for sharing this with us. I just subscribed!!
Thank you so much! Really interesting area you grew up in 😊
Jerome has my vote. Thanks for the ride.
What a beautiful place to visit!
I love the unique architecture of the southwest
Absolutely. Funny you say that as I’ll have a video coming out about Taos Pueblo who some say is the inspiration for all SW architecture.
I live in Colorado and I love exploring small mountain towns here, so Jerome looks like my cup of tea to walk around and look at stuff!
Really enjoyed this!! I grew up on a ranch 20 miles from Winkelman/Hayden and remember when both towns were booming...Winkelman actually had three thriving grocery stores in the 1960's, only one still in operation, as you saw.
Favorite of these towns has to be Jerome- lots of charm and nostalgia remaining there. ❤
That's so cool you grew up so close to both places! And yes, Jerome's a real gem 😊
Congratulations on #400 and almost 40k (well-deserved) subs!! Hayden was really something - what struck me was how many of those homes probably looked incredible, especially landscape-wise, before they were abandoned. Jerome just looks awesome - I'm imagining coffee or adult beverages on one of those terraces, looking at those views - wow...❤❤. The old buildings are the best, and I love all the wrought iron gates, etc. Can I tell you, your channel has been my happy spot this week (happier than usual) - it was a difficult work week, and watching your content lifted my spirits a ton - so thank you!! 🙏🎉
I’m glad you liked Hayden and Jerome! I’m happy my channel can be a little escape for you. 🙏
Thanks!
Thank you for the generous donation! Much appreciated!
As. Teenager in the 60s, Jerome was truly an abandoned/ghost town - very eerie. Not so sure its tourist reincarnation is good. Huge difference. Thanks for the video tour.
Thanks!
Perfect sound tracks for this video and these old town's with abundance of Spanish flair. Thank's John 👍✌
Many thanks! I try to match up the audio if I can 😊
Very interesting and well presented video. Jerome is my favorite and thank you for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks 😊
This was nice to see (hello warm temps and sunshine ) and LOVE the music you put with this. We are buried with snow for a week now here in Missouri 😢. We have been to Jerome, Arizona many many times the past 25 years and such good memories there and it was nice to see it again ❤, Thank you!😊
It's hard to beat a little sunshine and warm weather in Arizona! 🙂 thanks for the nice comment!
This is very interesting. I like 2 towns for 2 different reasons. Hayden because of the history of mining towns. The buildings are beautiful in their ways. The second is Jerome. The scenic drive you did in an earlier video was a nice ride. Driving through Jerome and seeing the view was worth my time watching twice. Thank you so much.
Thank you! Can’t argue with anything you said 😊
The dogs were hard at work. I wish you could have met the ghost town girl and shared her story. See you next week 😎
Me too 😊 maybe next time!
I enjoyed your video. I got to see towns I never heard of. Thanks!
Thank you! Fun video to make!
Arizona is one of my favorite states to visit. Would love to live there someday but don’t think it will happen. I actually love the weather there especially during the winter. Thanks for the tour of these places.
I’m right there with ya!
My family has lived in Duncan, AZ for 5 generations. My grandpa went to the Mexican school until high school when desegregation finally happened. His uncle worked at the Lazy B Ranch as a cowboy. The school is a Title I school and is D rated. Also if you are not part of a certain church, you will always be an outsider there. There is a reason why it is so tiny.
John, this was an interesting video. The two towns I liked were number five and four. They looked like really nice small towns.. My Mother, sister and I went to the Grand Canyon many years ago and I don't remember Tusayna. Of course as I said it was many years ago (early 1970s, I think). Did a lot of traveling in that decade. Mom and I went to California in March of 1978 and stopped for a few days in Tucson because she found out she had a relative living near there. He worked with a search and rescue group when he was younger. Also my Mom, sister, brother and I visited Tucson in 1972. We camped in a campground outside of Tucson and visited the Arizona Sonora Desert museum, which has grown huge since we were there. See how many memories you brought back with this small Arizona towns video? Thank you for the trip and the memories it brought back. Happy trails to you and God bless.
I love how a video can bring back memories! Thank you for sharing 😊
Great video brother! Quite massive towns to be the smallest towns!
They're pretty big for "smallest towns"! 😂
I am from Kearny, just down the road from Hayden and Winkelman. I actually worked in the concentrator shown behind the Hayden pool for a time. Those towns have a very proud past, and even now, there is a strong sense of family there. As tough as it looks in the towns, please remember that very good people still live there, and are proud to be from there.
We stayed in that campground outside of Grand Canyon many years ago in our travel trailer.
Such a beautiful place to do that!
Good stuff, thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it!
Oddly in Arizona's expanding East Valley (Valley of the Sun), there's one little settlement that has become nothing more than a dirt parking lot off the side of the Superstition Freeway. According to photos I found online, back in the 1930's and 40's, Florence Junction was a small berg that even had it's own airport. When I was a kid in the valley back in the 80's, it was just an old gas station with a few buildings in the back. Then in the 90's, the station was leveled and a new travel plaza was built a couple miles to the east. But then the Superstition Freeway built out and bypassed the truckstop which I last knew sits abandoned in the middle of the desert.
Another small settlement that no longer exist as it did when I was a kid was Childs, Arizona. It was an isolated settlement at the bottom of the Verde River that served the now historic powerplant. The last time I checked on Google Earth, it was just a scattering of cement pads.
Wow that's interesting! I love finding out about the history of those dots on the map!
@@TravelwithaWiseguy As I've watched your program, I keep wondering how many of the hundreds of dots you've investigated (especially the places that no longer exist) will virtually be lost to history?
@@AtriumPrime It's a really good question. I guess time will only tell.
I remember Jerome. What a great place. I feel sorry for the people in Hayden. It would be so depressing to see the town disintegrate, however, there were some bright spots with a few very nice buildings. Love the video! I live outside of a small town. I think small towns are fascinating.
Hayden was definitely one of the more interesting ones - I wonder what the future holds for it.
Hayden kind of reminds one not only of Picher Oklahoma, but also Galena Kansas before it began to be rehabilitated years ago. It also was littered w/ abandoned buildings.
Good video John, looking ahead to the next.🙏🇺🇸
Stay Safe and Be Blessed my Friend.
Oh wow I didn’t know Galena was like that. They’ve really rebounded!
@TravelwithaWiseguy indeed they have my friend, a worthwhile destination on Rt. 66.
Jerome has always been a favorite of mine and I would always prowl through whenever I could starting in the 60s right up until today. We investigated the derelict Little Daisy hotel years before someone turned it into their home. Grabbing a brew in the Spirit Room in 1969 was different because we were the only patrons and the only sounds were the whisting wind and the clock on the wall ticking, it was truly a ghost town back then.
Would’ve been interesting to see it back in the day! I’m jealous!
I still love Jerome but it's gotten way to "touristy" in the last several years. BTW, I remember the oldhigh school at the lower edge of town being open and having students.
Very nicely done excellent photography
As an AZ resident that loves traveling the backroads and small towns; you do an excellent travelogue
Go through Duncan a lot and you gave some very good stop and stare photos of the buildings
Love your channel
You are excellent at editing and photography Thank you
That means a lot coming from a local - thank you very much! Arizona definitely gives us plenty of opportunities for beautiful photography!
Used to deliver small loads of freight from Pheonix and then Flagstaff (less than truckload) too big for UPS/Fed Ex maybe a pallet load or two and have stopped and made deliveries in everyone of these towns.
Mine's Jerome. The building on the hill that's now a restaurant once was a mental hospital. And it's haunted. :)
They had lots of “haunted tours” there
Wow
I’m from AZ and never heard of Hayden and Winklman . Thanks you informed me. Maybe one day I will make it there 👍
Glad you learned something new - I hope you get to visit soon!
The Hayden Police Palace and rows of expensive new cruisers showed the screwed up priorities
Hayden and Jerome looked pretty interesting. Thanks for the episode.
Definitely recommended places to check out!
I love Jerome- I would like to go there sometime. Also- where do you get the music for your videos? I especially enjoyed the music to this one!
Most of the music is from UA-cam’s free music library. I put the specific songs in the description of the video so you can usually search them on YT if you want!
I knew you’d answered this before- but I had zero idea😂😂😂
I was born in Jerome and baptized in Holy Family Church by the pastor, Padre Atucha, a Claretian priest. My father also was born in Jerome. He was a miner for a short time before he enlisted in the Navy during World War Two. I still have flashes of memory, the snow, the board walk in the business district, and my grandmother taking me to Mass, walking up the stairs long and steep wooden stairs. Mingus Mountain and Daisy Hill.
In the 70's Jerome was an actual ghost town with maybe 50 people living there and they I guess were mostly artists. But there wasn't really very many liveable places. It was really creepy and the roads were really bad.
It’s great they’ve had such a turnaround!
I stayed at the hotel in 79. I think the bar was The Spirit Room
I drove thru Hayden around Thanksgiving. I didn’t know its story. But it all makes sense with the huge mines that I drove past. Thank you.
I’m staying for 6 months outside of Superior working at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I travel full time and I’d say Superior has been doing a good job at revitalizing itself. But….they are a mining town also. :(
If anyone is in that area…go eat and shop in Superior! Thx for your video.
I've been to Arizona several times but I didn't get to see much of the historic parts. I was driving a semi at the time.
I live in Pinal county AZ i love these places. ❤
THANKS COACH COOL 😎 GLASSES
Glad you like them! 😎
Whenever you go to a town or city, if there is a mountain to view, you are always going to have a Mountain View business.. I don't think the town of Hayden actually has enough policeman to drive all those police cars.
I’ve heard that same thing about the police vs cars in Hayden!
Spent a year one night in Jerome area. It was warm that afternoon, froze all night. Flat tire on the bike. Fortunately an old hippy prospector took pity on me by mornings light and we hoisted the bike in his rusty old Chevy truck. Hauled to Flagstaff to a friends shop for a 20 dollar bill and case of Dr. Pepper. Lesson learned don't roll off on dirt side road lots of nails. Good grouping of some interesting place. I kinda like Duncan.
Sounds like a rough night! I'm with you on Duncan!
They have some unique buildings in Arizona.
Nicely done!
Thank you! Cheers!
I am surprised that Tortilla Flats population 6 up on apache trail in Superstition Mountains just north of Mesa.
Unincorporated though lol
The river is He La
You really captured these small towns. I was fascinated. I have been to Arizona many times, most times flying in 20 to 30 years ago, sometimes driving- but it’s different and interesting to see what you find in these small towns. The last time I saw Jerome was decades ago and it is changing. All it takes in some small towns is one grand vision for the future put into action and they flourish.
It is fascinating how these little towns change. Hopefully they continue to survive - a lot to find in them!
My town has a population of 1,000 and can 'not' afford a police dept. How does Hayden afford a police dept with "5" vehicles?
It has always irritated me as to how big industry ground up, spit out and abandoned such beautiful lands. One has to wonder what would happen to all the abandoned structures across the country if the population had not been dumbed down and so many restrictive regulations put in place. So many foundations left behind to rebuild and thrive... "In a perfect world".....
I think I read they have more police cars than policemen! It’s a strange and fascinating place. One of my favorites to learn about. The next 10-20 years will be really interesting.
Dear diary: Coach visited a contaminated town so keep an eye on him for any negative effects. He may exhibit odd behavior or his beard may stop growing! 😵💫
It’s already happening 😂😂😂
Please do Illinois soon!
He already has done top ten smallest towns in Illinois
@ I must have missed it
Yep just search Wiseguy Illinois and it should pop up
It's a shame that they tore down all the historic buildings in Pitcher.
Jerome is my favorite 🙏❤️👍
Jerome wear my best friend grew up in
early 2025 it's hard to think of Jerome as a ghost/small town it's a tourist trap mow
💙💙💙
You cannot purchase land and buildings in Jerome the mining company’s “own” everything
Duncan is very cool!
Agreed 😎
Duncan is a racist bigoted town. Take it from someone who has had family live there for 5 generations.
I grew up in Winkelman. People from this area are great. My childhood was amazing. The river was great in the summer, but you missed a big part of the history. Two huge floods (1983/93) led to half of the homes being demolished. It sucks, but it's just not the same. Like Andy Bernard said, "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you've actually left them."
Thank you for the added info!
Well done and a sensitive presentation of struggling towns in AZ.
Thank you! I loved visiting these towns 😊
👍👍👌✌️❤️
Nothing, Arizona is the smallest town
Is there an airport in or near duncan
My Mother's side of the family, the Hext side, homestead is outside of Duncan. My Grandpa Archie graduated from Duncan high school there in the 30s. Family plot is in the Duncan Cemetery.
☕☕☕☕☕..the usa government has money for wars but, not to fix up a towns
It was quite an experience in Hayden!
The market fixes towns not the govt.
Not the federal governments job.
Back when McDonald's had $1 drinks most places, I drove off from the McDonald's in Tusayan because they wanted like $2 for a drink. That was pretty sorry in hindsight considering we just got into the Grand Canyon for free because the computers were down!