One night in 1866, the story goes, prospector John Kemple sought shelter with a Mormon family in Leeds, southwest Utah Territory. Sitting by the evening fire, he noticed a metallic liquid dripping from a hot rock in the fireplace. Suspecting it might be silver, he tried and failed to locate the rock’s source. Prevailing wisdom held that the region’s sandstone cliffs could not contain silver.
Kemple moved on to Nevada in search of better prospects. But when its soil proved no richer, in 1874 he returned to this region about 15 miles northeast of St. George and filed claims. Though he never developed those claims, his activity attracted the attention of the Walker brothers, a pair of Salt Lake City bankers.
In 1875 the Walkers grubstaked an old prospector named William T. Barbee, who did find silver and staked more than 20 claims on the brothers’ behalf. Barbee also established a small town he flamboyantly named Bonanza City. He tried selling town lots, but his asking price was too high. Instead of buying in Bonanza City, miners erected a tent city north of town dubbed Rockpile, a truer reflection of the surrounding terrain.
The new camp was destined to grow. When nearby Pioche, Nev., closed its mines in November 1875, throwing men out of work, many headed for what was now called Silver Reef—a name derived from the white reef geological formation, an uplifted section of white sandstone that resembles an ocean reef.
For the next few years Silver Reef produced at least $1 million of ore per year. During its mining heyday it yielded more than $10 million in silver. It is reportedly the only mining district in North America at which sandstone yielded silver.
Silver Reef grew mostly lengthwise, with a mile-long Main Street fronted by more than 100 businesses. Rare for an Old West boomtown, it held more grocery stores than saloons—nine vs. six.The Rice Bank (rebuilt in 1991) thrived in the good years. For topside entertainment the town had a racetrack, a brass band, a brewery and a baseball team. The Silver Reef Echo reported on the various goings-on.
The town also had its share of violence. One gunfight pitted Marshal Johnny Diamond against mine guard Jack Truby. During a court proceeding in the back of a saloon, Diamond requested that Truby remove his hat. The latter refused. After trading heated words, they took their “discussion” outside. In the ensuing exchange of the bullets, the dueling duo managed to cause each other’s funeral.
At its peak Silver Reef’s population approached 2,000. In 1881, when world silver prices dropped, the mines suffered. Several mines compounded their problems by digging beneath the water table and flooding the shafts. To offset losses, the owners cut wages, prompting miners to quit the white sandstone cliffs. Within a few years most of the mines had closed. The last one shut down in 1891.
Some of those who left for other camps razed their structures for building material. Peter Anderson bought a dilapidated dance hall for salvage and during demolition discovered some $2,000 in gold coins in a leather bag behind a wall. His discovery led others to rashly tear down more buildings in search of hidden loot. The few remaining structures eventually succumbed to a major fire in 1908.
Today Silver Reef’s original stone Wells Fargo office serves as a museum and visitor center [www.silverreef.org]. One mile off I-15 near Leeds, the town is adjacent to the Red Cliffs Recreation Area.
Originally published in the June 2011 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
