When Drake Meinke was dreaming of a location for his Copper Art Museum, he started to research copper mining in the U.S. and discovered that Arizona is the largest producer of copper in the country. Seventy billion pounds have been mined from the Grand Canyon State thus far, says Monica Meinke, Drake’s daughter and the manager of Clarkdale’s Copper Art Museum. The museum opened last December on the ground floor of the building that served as Clarkdale High School from 1928 to 1960. Though it’s still a work in progress, the museum is 9,000 square feet of everything copper. Boring? Not at all.
The museum primarily features artifacts and objects from the collections of three benefactors, including the Meinkes. When you enter, you follow copper footsteps through corridors and into rooms with a variety of displays. Learn where copper comes from and see a nugget that’s 1.1 billion years old. Read about the history of copper (it was discovered around 9000 B.C.) and see maps that show where the world’s copper mines are located. The Information Room features copper tools, coins, weapons and helmets alongside Arizona Copper State souvenirs. Learn how copper has been used in art (hint: it’s been used in paint and as a canvas). The Military Art Room showcases “trench art”: shell casings from World War I that have been transformed into vases, matchboxes, candleholders and other items.
There are exhibits on copper in food and medicine, architecture and religious art. The Cooking Room is a favorite among visitors, says Monica, and it’s easy to see why. Copper pots of all shapes and sizes dangle from racks in the ceiling. There’s an impressive wall adorned with copper teakettles just outside the Cooking Room, and the Drinking Room houses a beer stein that was part of Oprah Winfrey’s collection. The centerpiece in the Distillery and Wine Room is a 200-year-old, 1,000-pound polished-copper cognac still from France.
Monica says having a copper museum in Clarkdale gives the community the opportunity to learn about the other half of the local mining history. “The copper was mined in Jerome and then it was transported to Clarkdale to be produced,” she says. “What happened to all of it? That’s the story we tell.” – Erika Ayn Finch
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