It was built as a company town in 1917 to serve the new smelter for James Douglas, Jr.'s United Verde Extension Mine (UVX) in Jerome.

Though now a part of the city of Cottonwood, Verde as it was known had its own post office and station on the Clarkdale branch of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.

To deliver ore to the smelter from Jerome, Douglas built the Arizona-Extension Railway, a two-branch shortline railroad.

The western branch ran between Clemenceau and the eastern portal of the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) Josephine Tunnel, which connected to the UVX Mine.

[6] The museum has displays on mining, ranching, and farming in the Verde Valley, and preserves archives and artifacts from the area.

[10] Jack Frye's personal airplane, a TWA Lockheed Model 10 Electra with tail number NC18137, was frequently based at the Clemenceau Airport.