![]() ![]() 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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