Silver Reef Ghost Town Near Leeds
Silver Reef: the ghost town built on silver found in sandstone — which geologists had said was impossible.
Silver Reef is the most interesting ghost town in the region, and the reason is geological as much as historical: it existed because of an ore deposit that was not supposed to be possible.
Silver in sandstone
Conventional geological wisdom held that silver was not found in sandstone. Silver Reef proved otherwise, and the discovery triggered a boom in the 1870s.
The town that grew here was substantial — and culturally, it was an anomaly. This was a mining town of largely non-Mormon miners in the middle of a settled Latter-day Saint agricultural region: saloons, a Chinese community, and a cash economy, alongside neighbours who had been sent here to grow cotton.
Why it mattered to everyone around it
Silver Reef was, briefly, the region's economic engine. Local farmers had a market that paid in cash, and the town's thirst supported an industry that surprises people today: southern Utah's wine trade.
The region's Dixie Wine Mission had been established in 1861, and by 1870 St. George producers were making thousands of gallons a year. Silver Reef's miners were a substantial customer. When the mines closed late in the century, that market vanished — and the wine industry declined with it. See the guide to drinking in St. George.
That connection is the thing that makes Silver Reef more than a curiosity: its rise and fall moved the whole regional economy.
What is there now
A museum in the restored Wells Fargo building, one of the few structures still standing, alongside foundations, ruins and interpretive signage across the site.
It is a modest visit in scale and a rewarding one in content, and the setting — quiet, above the valley near Leeds — is pleasant in its own right.
Check current opening arrangements before travelling; like several regional sites it is volunteer-supported with limited hours.
Practical
- About twenty minutes northeast of St. George, near Leeds, with straightforward access.
- Wear proper shoes — the site is uneven ground and old workings.
- Do not enter or climb on ruins or mine structures. Old workings are genuinely dangerous.
- Take nothing. Artefacts on a historic site are protected and belong where they are.
- Little shade. See desert hiking safety.
Pairing it
Silver Reef fits naturally with the region's historic sites, and with Grafton if you want to compare two very different abandonments — one that died when the ore ran out, and one that died of flooding.
Frequently asked questions
What was Silver Reef?
A mining boom town of the 1870s built on silver found in sandstone — a deposit conventional geological wisdom held was not possible. It was culturally an anomaly too: a town of largely non-Mormon miners, with saloons, a Chinese community and a cash economy, in the middle of a settled Latter-day Saint agricultural region that had been sent here to grow cotton.
Why does Silver Reef matter to the wider region?
Because it was briefly the area's economic engine. Local farmers gained a market that paid in cash, and the miners' thirst supported southern Utah's wine trade — the Dixie Wine Mission had been established in 1861 and by 1870 St. George producers were making thousands of gallons a year. When the mines closed late in the century, that market vanished and the wine industry declined with it.
What is there to see now?
A museum in the restored Wells Fargo building, one of the few structures still standing, alongside foundations, ruins and interpretive signage across the site. It is modest in scale and rewarding in content, about twenty minutes northeast of St. George near Leeds. Check current opening arrangements before travelling, since like several regional sites it is volunteer-supported with limited hours.