Jerome (ghost town)

When gold was discovered on the shores of Lake Opeepeesway in 1937, the Mining Corporation of Canada built the Jerome Gold Mine to extract the precious minerals found in the area.

Luxuries at the mine site included bunkhouses, store, cookery, staffhouse and restaurant. The original restaurant operator had been suspected of skimming money from the sales of alcohol for some time. He was eventually fired when it could be proven. A mechanic working at the mine named Bill McCormack, informed my grandfather of the new vacancy. After meeting with the mine manager, my grandfather was hired to work as the new bartender.

Families of the workers lived 35 km away in the town of Ramsay. As no road existed that connected Ramsay to Jerome, K.W. Biglow was contracted in 1938 to cut a road that would join the two town sites. This would allow married men to travel home to their families in Ramsay on weekend and return to work on Monday. The road was a winter road only and was used to transport equipment and supplies for the construction of the mine and the town site. An all season road was built by, Armstrong brothers cons, in 1942 and the mine had their own trucks (2),for transportation. Bill McCormack was the truck driver.

A post office operated from 1942 until 1945. Jerome(a)s population stood at approximately 150 residents.

Jerome Mine closed in 1945 when the milling tower burned to the ground during a bush fire. The mine was not reopened due to the difficulty in obtaining financing during World War Two. By this time, Jerome Mine had extracted an estimated 62,000 ounces of gold.

The Ramsay townside continued to provide shelter for employees of the lumber industry until the late 1980(a)s.

Ownership of the mine was held by the E. B. Eddy Forest Products Company until it was bought out by Domtar Incorporated in 1998. There is nothing left in the area to indicate that there ever was a mine in the area except foundations.

To find the mine take Highway 144 to the Watershed Restaurant. Turn left at the E.B. Eddy Road (Sultan Industrial Road).