The Ghost Town of Silver Reef Utah

The welcome sign to the Sliver Reef mining ghost town north of St. George, Utah. Several buildings and mining structures are still there, and ruins of many other buildings can be found on a short walk around the area that once had more than 1,500 residents. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — The welcome sign to the Sliver Reef mining ghost town north of St. George, Utah. Several buildings and mining structures are still there, and ruins of many other buildings can be found on a short walk around the area that once had more than 1,500 residents.

This is the Silver Reef ghost town in Utah, just off Interstate 15 near the small town of Leeds, about 20 miles north of St. George. It has the distinction of being the only silver mine in the U.S. where silver was extracted from sandstone.

It is believed the silver ended up in the sand stone either by the evaporation of silver rich water in this area when sea water receded, or it eroded out sliver veins in mountains that are now long gone eons ago.

There are still 3 complete buildings standing in town, and ruins with walls for at least 10-15 more. The rest of this once busy mining town can be seen as outlines of stone foundations in the desert and traces of life with shards of glass bottles, plates, jugs and other rusted or broke artifacts of every day life on the ground. As with all historic sites, leave the artifacts where you found them.

Some of the mining relics on display outside the Silver Reef museum. There are a couple interpretive signs in the town like this one that help tell the history of the town, even when the museum is closed.#Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — Some of the mining relics on display outside the museum. There are a couple interpretive signs in the town like this one that help tell the history of the town, even when the museum is closed.

There is a museum at the site and you can take a self-guided walking tour. The museum website with hours is http://www.silverreefutah.org/.

The mine starting operating in 1875 and this desert valley quickly became a boom town or
More than 1,500 people. When the silver ran out by 1909, the town was abandoned. The area was mined again in the 1950s for uranium.

The ruins of the ore processing mills are also left behind. The silver was smelted on-site because there were no railroads near by so all the silver had to be taken out by horse wagon.

Remains of part of the ore processing mill at the Silver Reef ghost town on a hillside overlooking the sandstone reef formation. On the white sandstone hill across the ravine can bee seen the stone foundations of another ore processing mill and an ore tailing pile of broken stone. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — Remains of part of the ore processing mill on a hillside overlooking the sandstone reef formation. On the white sandstone hill across the ravine can bee seen the stone foundations of another ore processing mill and an ore tailing pile of broken stone.

A history of the Silver Reef Mining District on the Bureau of Land Management website says during 1876, Silver Reef was one of the largest towns in Washington County, Utah, with about 1,500 residents. A development boom took place along mile-long Main Street, including the construction of 6 saloons, 9 grocery stores, 2 dance halls, a brewery, a billiard hall, the Wells Fargo Express Office, a jail, and a church, amongst many others.

Fragments of bottles, jugs, plates, glasses and other pieces of every life are scattered all of the desert floor in the area that made up the town of Silver Reef. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — Fragments of bottles, jugs, plates, glasses and other pieces of every life are scattered all of the desert floor in the area that made up the town of Silver Reef.

St. John Catholic Church was Southern Utah’s first established Catholic congregation, founded in 1879, which housed the town’s hospital in a rear wing. Only remnants of the church can still be seen today.

This is the original Silver Reef jail, one of the few remaining intact structures in the ghost town. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — This is the original Silver Reef jail, one of the few remaining intact structures.

We drove down some rough mud and gravel roads past the Catholic and Lutheran pioneer and miner cemeteries to the mine shafts along the Silver Reef white sandstone formation hills. The hills are pock-marked with piles of gravel showing the location of hundreds of mine shafts. The ones that were profitable are larger and have more piles of overburden tailings around them.

One of the original mine shafts into the base of Silver reef near the ghost town, now filled in for safety of visitors. This is located off of the dirt mining road about a mile past the pioneer cemeteries. The road is very rough in sections where it has been washed out, so beware. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — One of the original mine shafts into the base of Silver reef, now filled in for safety of visitors. This is located off of the dirt mining road about a mile past the pioneer cemeteries. The road is very rough in sections where it has been washed out, so beware.

We found 2 large mine shafts that were capped with steel bars and concrete to prevent people from exploring them or accidentally falling into them. There are many more in this area. One dropped straight down hundreds of feet.

One of many capped mine shafts from the 1800s in the Silver Reef ghost town mining area. This one and a large one just a short ways past it are along the old mine road the continues part the pioneer cemeteries. The chunks of white sand stone in the foreground is the ore they processed to extract small amounts of silver. #Travelutah #ghosttowns #wanderlustjustgo #Utah — One of many capped mine shafts from the 1800s in the Silver Reef mining area. This one and a large one just a short ways past it are along the old mine road the continues part the pioneer cemeteries. The chunks of white sand stone in the foreground is the ore they processed to extract small amounts of silver.

The surviving town of Leeds close by was also a mining town, part of the this larger mining district.

Directions from St. George: Take I-15 north to South Main Street. Take Exit 22 from I-15 north. Then follow South Main Streer to Silver Reef Road and follow the signs for Silver Reef.

For more information – https://www.blm.gov/visit/silver-reef-mining-district

Additional photos from our visit to the Silver Reef, Utah, ghost town below.