From the 1960s onwards, artists, musicians and free spirits trickled into Jerome, drawn by cheap rents and atmospheric ruins. They opened studios, cafés and galleries in the old mining shacks, gradually transforming the ghost town into a creative enclave.

Today, around 450 people live here year-round, supporting boutique inns, restaurants and one of Arizona’s most buzzing small-town arts scenes. Once abandoned and collapsing into the hillside, Jerome now thrives as a quirky mountain community with a strong cultural spirit.

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