However, that led to Peter Shirts’ discovery of the Iron City site in 1868, and the subsequent organization of the Union Iron Company by Ebenezer Hanks that same year. The mining operation there eventually failed and closed down, though settlers remained. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints settled Cedar City in the 1850s, with the express goal of establishing an iron works. In a way, it came about because of the establishment of Cedar City, more than a decade before. Photo: Deseret News Archivesįounded in 1868, Old Irontown was originally known as Iron City.
Old Irontown was settled in the 1850s for the purpose of mining iron ore, however, the venture quickly proved unsuccessful and Old Irontown became Utah’s first ghost town. The museum is on the right at the corner of Silver Reef Drive and Wells Fargo Drive. Turn left at the “Y” in the road, which becomes Silver Reef Drive.
Turn right at the “T” on Silver Reef Road, driving west about 1.5 miles. Getting thereįrom the north, take southbound I-15 to exit 23 for Leeds/Silver Reef. Feel like stretching your legs? A short trail will take you to one of the kilns once used to process silver. Today, much of the town has been overtaken by new development, making it therefore off-limits to explorers, but you can still visit the old Wells Fargo Express Office, which was turned into a museum, and the bank, now a gift shop. While the mines generated millions of dollars of silver ore, the last mine closed up in 1891. A downturn in the silver market dealt one major blow, and decreasing wages for miners dealt another. That same year, after the mines closed in Pioche, Nev., some of its miners relocated to Rockpile, renaming it “Silver Reef.” At its peak, the town hosted 2,500 residents, nine grocery stores, six saloons and even a newspaper, which made it the largest town in southern Utah at the time.īut it wouldn’t last. Barbee, staked nearly two dozen claims and established a town he called “Bonanza City.” But miners drawn to the area by reports of silver preferred to set up camp outside of town, which they called “Rockpile.” A pair of Salt Lake bankers known as the Walker brothers hired a prospector to check it out on their behalf. Then, in 1875, word got out about Kemple’s discovery. He returned in 1874, hoping to find the source of the vein of silver, staking several more claims, but without locating the source. A man named John Kemple discovered silver there in 1866. Like many ghost towns of the Old West, Silver Reef got its start as a mining settlement.
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