Located in the Black Hills of Yavapai County, Arizona, Jerome is a settlement about two hours from Phoenix that got its start as a copper mining boomtown. At its peak about 100 years ago, approximately 10,000 people lived there. Today, fewer than 1,000 call it home.
The main attraction for most who visit Jerome is its Wild West tourism: the historic buildings erected on the twisty roadways of Mingus Mountain remain largely the same today as they were a century ago. With that in mind, my destination for a one-night stay was the Jerome Grand Hotel—a former 30,000-square-foot hospital that sat vacant for over four decades and was later converted into a hotel in 1996. The lobby is located where the old emergency room reception took place, and the on-site restaurant is called Asylum. Thrill-seekers love going to the hotel for its paranormal activity, particularly on the third floor, where the psych ward was located. I was not sure if I wanted to spend the night with any otherworldly entities.
What I did want to see, though, was located just about a mile up the road. The Gold King Mine was established in 1890 when a 1,270-foot shaft was dug and gold was struck. Thus, the small settlement of “Hayden” was established. Eventually, the ore was exhausted, the mine was closed in 1914, and the town dried up. But in the 1980s, Terry and Don Robertson turned it into an outdoor museum. Sprinkled around the property are over 180 cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Based on my general observations, the vast majority of the vehicles are heavy-duty trucks.
Here were some of the vehicles that caught my eye during my visit:
1936 Dodge LC Truck
This truck rolled off the line the year Franklin D. Roosevelt was reelected as president of the United States, and it had a modern look for its time. The most common engine was a 201.3ci L-head inline-six paired with a three-speed manual transmission. According to signage on the door, this one participated in the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) National Antique Truck Show in Bloomington, Minnesota in June 1999.
1939 Studebaker Commander Coupe
Powered by a 226ci L-head inline-six, this car was one of the pioneers of a specific type of independent front suspension. The sweeping lines became signature characteristics of Studebaker models during the era. Even the dashboard had an Art Deco look to it. This was one of the few cars on-site with fully inflated tires. Maybe it “ran when parked?” I’d sure love to see it cruising down the road again.
1941 International Harvester Heavy-Duty Tanker Truck
Even though it was older by a decade and a half, this truck immediately made me think of the menacing 1955 Peterbilt 281 tanker truck from the famous 1971 Steven Spielberg horror movie “Duel.” This fuel-hauler was decked out in Shell Oil livery; an Arizona license plate on the rear end expired in 2007. This is a vehicle I’m quite unfamiliar with. International apparently evolved from its D-Series to its K-Series line of heavy-duty trucks right around model year 1940. Can someone definitively help us identify this colorful truck?
1949 Ford F-3 One-Ton Truck
A placard affixed to the driver door of this F-3 said it had a six-cylinder flathead engine and a four-speed transmission. It also said, “Used Every Day.” I’m not sure when that badge was attached to the vehicle, but something tells me it hasn’t been used in quite some time. The upholstery was so mutilated that the bench seat was nothing but rusty springs.
1952 Chevrolet 3600 Truck
The “Advance Design” series of General Motors trucks, produced between 1947 and 1955, have an incredibly strong enthusiast following. This truck more than likely came with either a Thriftmaster 216.5ci inline-six or a slightly larger 235.5ci version of the same. The driver door said “Cannon’s Salvage and Towing” in Clarkdale. It turns out that Cannon Salvage is still in business. I wonder if it wants its truck back?
1956 Studebaker 2E “Transtar” Truck
This dually was definitely set up for heavy hauling. More than likely, it was powered by a 259ci Commander V8 mated to a three-speed manual transmission. Some online sources say there were 20,218 trucks of this type built for the year. The way the tires were sinking in the ground, it was almost as if Mother Earth was trying to reclaim it.
I hope you enjoyed kicking the tires—some inflated and some not—of these old rusty rides with me. Want to check out the Gold King Mine yourself? Admission is $12 for adults, and the property is open for self-guided tours every day except Tuesday. Check out the Gold King Mine website for more visitor information.