United Verde Copper Company

Copper company, Jerome Mining District, Yavapai County, Ariz.; organized in 1882 by Fred Thomas, George Treadwell, and Eugene Jerome. The company was sold to W.A. Clark in 1889.

The United Verde Copper Company was incorporated in January 1883 after word had spread that the Verde Valley was rich in copper deposits. James A. MacDonald was its first president, then-Governor Frederick Augustus Tritle was vice-president, and Eugene Murray Jerome (for whome the town of Jerome was named) was secretary-treasurer. After initial success, the operation (and the value of copper) waned, forcing the exit of all three by 1888. Milionnaire businessman and future Senator William Andrews Clark became the exclusive owner of the United Verde in late 1888. He implemented big changes with its operation, particularly with relation to its underground development and implementation of innovative technologies. A new smelter was completed outside of Clarkdale in 1918; new ore deposits here revealed not just copper, but silver and gold as well. Business flourished, but there were many many concerns related to the environment that came about at the time. For example, during the 1920s and 1930s, farmers in the Verde Valley were involved in a law suit with the United Verde for somke damage to their crops.

Clark died in 1925, leaving the operation in the hands of his heirs. It would not stay in the family for long; in 1935, Clark's daughters decided to sell the United Verde Copper Company to Phelps Dodge for $20,800,000. The United Verde Extension mine (the Little Daisy) was also purchased by Phelps Dodge as part of the deal; it ultimately closed permanently in 1938. Phelps Dodge ceased all mining activities in ealy 1953, effectively putting an end to the mines in and around Jerome.