User:Tillman/ClemencaeuAZ

Clemenceau, Arizona was built as a company town in 1917 to serve the new smelter for the United Verde Extension mine in Jerome. The town was named in honor of the French Premier in World War I, Georges Clemenceau.

The Clemenceau smelter closed on December 31, 1936. Most residents left the area. When Cottonwood was incorporated in 1960, Clemenceau and the Clemenceau Airport became part of Cottonwood.

With the exception of the school, the bank/post office and the smelter slag pile, little remains of the original town of Clemenceau.

The Clemenceau Heritage Museum occupies most of the old Clemenceau School, which operated 1924-1986. The 1919 Clemenceau Bank and Post Office is also part of the museum. The museum has displays on mining, logging, and railroad development in the Verde Valley, and preserves archives and artifacts from the area. An elaborate working model railroad display depicts the seven railroads that operated in the Upper Verde Valley from 1895-1953.

Trivia
James Douglas, Jr. bought an apartment in Paris for his friend Clemenceau in 1926, for his retirement home. This building later became the Musée Clémenceau. Source:

Jack Frye's personal airplane, TWA's Lockheed Electra NC18137 was frequently based at the Clemenceau Airport. Frye had a vacation ranch near Sedona, now the Red Rock State Park. Source and photo:, item #128.

DRAFT NOTES
Add a note to Georges Clemenceau re this.