I LOVE Old Mining Towns

There is just something about walking around in a history lesson that gets me excited.  I have always loved old things from books, photographs, movies, fossil rocks and even the old portions of cemeteries.  It is no wonder that Nevada holds such a fascination to me.  Only in Las Vegas do they implode the old buildings, while in the rest of the state they are just left to stand as old monuments in the desert.  Some of the towns remain, but are just a slight image of their glory days.  Nevada towns like Pioche, Tonopah, Goldfield and Austin are just a few of my favorites that are living testimonies of their rich history.

If you know anything about me, you know that I love to go exploring in the desert and ghost towns are so interesting to me.  Now all the neighboring states have rich examples of mining boom towns and so my most recent painting was inspired by a visit to Jerome Arizona some 25 years ago.  Jerome boasted a population of over 10,000 in the 1920's to 155 in the mid 1950's.  The 2010 census lists the current population to be around 450.  Cooper was mined here in the boom and now the town depends completely on tourism to survive.

I wish we had taken many more pictures but this old 3 story structure was an amazing shot.  I love the addition of the laundry hanging in the wind to testify that as of that time there were still people making a home within its walls.

I hope you enjoy this 16x20 acrylic that I call- "Jerome".  The finished piece will be available in my gallery page on my website shortly at JulieTownsendStudio.com , but I wanted to give a sneak preview for those that check out my blog.

Original photo we took some 25 years ago

Almost completed painting that I am going to call "Jerome".