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Most miners could no longer afford to stay and began to move.
By 1884, most of the area mines had closed and
Silver Reef was quickly
becoming a ghost town. By 1890, less than 200 people remained in the area
and the following year, the last mine shut down, though ore continued to
be brought out of the area for the next decade. Over the years,
Silver Reef produced about 25 million dollars worth of ore.
In the early 1900s many of the remaining
buildings were demolished and in 1908 a fire destroyed most of what was
left.
Today, a couple of historic buildings continue
to stand in Silver Reef, as well as a collapsed mine, numerous foundations
and ruins, and two cemeteries.
The 1877 Wells Fargo Office was utilized as a
residence until the late 1940’s. Listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, today it serves as a museum and art gallery.
The 1876 Rice Bank Building was completely
taken apart and then rebuilt to be utilized as a jail during a major
mining dispute in the late 1800’s, continues to stand. During the
conflict, one mine foreman was run out of town and another tarred and
feathered. The authorities then arrested the union leaders, but because of
the limited space in the old bank building, a line was drawn around the
building to "hold” the men. Anyone crossing the line was threatened with
being shot. In 1991 the building was fully restored.
Behind the Wells Fargo building is a restored
powder house that serves as an information center.
The Cosmopolitan Restaurant appears to have
been rebuilt to appear as it did more than a century ago. Though it looks
rustic on the outside, the gourmet restaurant serves European Cuisine in a
fine dining atmosphere.
Scattered around the town are numerous
abandoned ruins and foundations, especially in the gully behind the old
town site, where crumbling mine building continues to stand.
The
formerly mile-long main street has been reduced to several hundred yards
and is surrounded by an up-scale community of private homes, on a private
drive restricting public access. Nearby are the remains of both a Catholic
and a Protestant cemetery.
Silver Reef
is about 15 miles northeast of St.
George,
Utah just off
Highway 15. Take the Leeds Exit (#22) and travel 1.5 miles west.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated October, 2010. |
