Tree Planting for Hillside Stabilization – Jerome AZ

City:
Jerome, AZ

Site Type:
Street Trees, Civic Facilities

New Deal Agencies:
Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs

Started:
1937

Completed:
1938

Quality of Information:
Minimal

Marked:
No

Site Survival:
Extant

Description

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was active in Jerome, a copper mining town hit hard by the Great Depression.  The WPA hired out-of-work miners for several projects in Jerome and nearby towns.

One of those projects was planting trees to stabilize the steep hillside on which the town is built (like so many western mining towns).  The favorite tree for the job was the tough, fast-growing Ailanthus, or Chinese Tree of Heaven.

Since the species readily spreads by root suckers, they are all over the town to this day.  But the harsh climate of Jerome, varying from winter snow to desert heat, means that there are few large such trees to be seen.

We know that the WPA was active in Jerome in 1937-38 and presume that the tree planting took place in these years – but that cannot be verified.

Source notes

Park ranger,  Jerome State Historic Park, March 25, 2022

Site originally submitted by Joan Greer on April 20, 2022.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.

Location Info


Main Street
Jerome , AZ 86331
Yavapai County

Location notes: Pin drop at site of photograph

Coordinates: 34.7477110, -112.1107049

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One comment on “Tree Planting for Hillside Stabilization – Jerome AZ

  1. Andrew S Millison

    Legend has it that the mayor of Jerome went up in an airplane with a giant bag of ailanthus seed and broadcasted them all over the town to keep it from sliding down the mountain

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One comment on “Tree Planting for Hillside Stabilization – Jerome AZ

  1. Andrew S Millison

    Legend has it that the mayor of Jerome went up in an airplane with a giant bag of ailanthus seed and broadcasted them all over the town to keep it from sliding down the mountain

Join the Conversation

Please note:

  • We are not involved in the management of New Deal sites and have no information about visits, hours or rentals.
  • This page shows all the information we have for this site; if you have new information or photos to share, click the button above.

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This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.