# 63 Silver Reef Museum - Leeds Utah
I had a wonderful trip to St George. I heard of a cool museum in the area, and I wanted to share my tour of the Silver Reef Museum - I love history. If you are in the area, pop in for a tour. Well worth it
Their website
Adventure at Silver Reef Town in So UtahExploring with Domtron88
Recorded in October 2018:
Join me and Domtron88 (My Son) as we embark to a small town just Northeast of the St. George Utah area to a small town called Silver Reef/Leeds. This rural area was once a thriving community where Silver ore was discovered among sandstone, it was then mined and processed, the mining claim which made it's stake occurred around the 1870's and people and business's flooded right in. By 1979 there was little to no mining operation and was shutdown completely in the early 80's, the small community still remains today as a town called Leeds which is right off the Interstate 15 and beholds a wonderful tourist attraction. Thank you for watching and I hope that you enjoyed this.
Domtron88's Channel:
LINKS:
Camera Devices used: Canon DSLR Rebel T6, iPod Touch, all material was edited using the program Wondershare Filmora.
Music: Music: Kevin MacLeod - RIVER VALLEY BREAKDOWN - BLUEGRASS COUNTRY MUSIC - ROYALTY-FREE. Reuben_s_Train_Royalty_Free. Campfire_Song_Royalty_Free.
504-Silver Reef Ghost Town, Utah
We are leaving the town of Washington, in southern Utah on hwy 15 headed north up to Cedar City about an hour ahead to check out that area.
Off to the west of here is Silver Reef, a ghost town in Washington County, Utah, about 15 miles northeast of St. George and a mile west of Leeds.
Silver Reef was discovered and established after John Kemple, a prospector from Nevada, discovered a vein of silver in a sandstone formation in 1866.
At first, geologists were uncertain about Kemple's find because silver is not usually found in sandstone.
In 1875, two bankers from Salt Lake City sent William Barbee to the site, to stake mining claims, and is credited with getting the mining going.
It is said he staked 21 or 22 claims, and an influx of miners came to work Barbee's claims and to stake their own.
To accommodate the miners, Barbee established a town called Bonanza City.
Property values there were high, so several miners settled on a ridge to the north of it and named their settlement Rockpile.
Later, renamed in 1876, Silver Reef became an established town and businessmen arrived.
By 1879, about 2,000 people were living in Silver Reef.
The town had a mile-long Main Street with many businesses, among them a Wells Fargo office, the Rice Building, and the Cosmopolitan Restaurant.
There were hotels, 9 stores, 6 saloons, a bank, several restaurant, a hospital, 2 dance halls, 2 news papers, a china town and 3 cemeteries.
Although adjacent to many settlements with a majority of Mormon residents, the town never had a meeting house for Latter-day Saints or otherwise known as LDS, only a Catholic church. In 1879, a fire destroyed several businesses, but the residents rebuilt them.
Mines were gradually closed, most of them by 1884, as price of silver dropped.
In 1891 the last mine shut down, about 25 million dollars’ worth of ore had been taken from the mines here.
Between 1891 and 1901 another $250,000 of ore was taken out of the area.
By 1901, most of the buildings in town had either been demolished or moved to Leeds or elsewhere.
In 1916, mining operations in Silver Reef resumed under the direction of Alex Colbath, who organized the area's mines into the Silver Reef Consolidated Mining Company.
These mines were purchased by American Smelting and Refining Company in 1928, but the company did minimal work as a result of the Great Depression.
The Western Gold & Uranium Corporation purchased Silver Reef's mines in 1948, and in 1951, they began mining uranium in the area.
These operations did not last long either, and the Western Gold & Uranium Corporation sold their mines to the 5M Corporation in 1979.
Today, the Wells Fargo office, the Cosmopolitan Restaurant, the Rice Building, and numerous foundations and walls remain in the town site.
The old Wells Fargo Express office is on the National Historical Register and is now a museum.
The old bank is now a gift shop. Some of the area has been preserved for its history.
A lot of the surrounding areas of the old town are now homes and housing developments and are restricted to public access.
The following Sound track (Copyright and Royalty Free) is-may be in this video.
-Stellardrone-Journey To The Sun
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Old West Shootout at Silver Reef Utah
Red Cliffs State Park, Leeds Utah
Camera: Gopro
Music: Itro-Complete
Soundcloud:
YouTube:
Lawmen and the Muddy River Gang Silver Reef Shootout 5/18/2019 Leeds Anniversary 1st show
Lawmen and the Muddy River gang. Leeds anniversary shootout. Silver Reef Museum. 1st show.
Present at the show were: Marshall John, Crazy Cora, Miss Beth, Kiss'n Kate, Tombstone, Wildcard, Jesse,Oink, Doc and Haywood
DOCUTAH showcases the Story of Leeds in September
ST. GEORGE, Utah - (7/26/19) - Over 300 films were submitted at DSU's DOCUTAH Film Festival this year. 65 will be debuted. Among those is a story about a local silver mining town of Leeds in southern Utah. . This is DOCUTAH'S ten year anniversary. The documentary film festival is popular among many foreign filmmakers.
Tickets will go on sale for the DOCUTAH 2019 Festival in August. The festival runs from September 2-7. For more information go to DOCUTAH.com.
Life Lessons From Ghost Town History - Mammouth, Utah
Mammoth Ghost Town in the Tintic mining region of Utah.
???????? Nobody Talks About These Places in Utah
Having spent the last six years exploring Utah, I can tell you that there are an immense amount of things worth seeing here. I've been to all five of the national parks and Zion National Park was my favorite.
Another must see in Utah is Kanarraville Falls where you need to traverse thru a narrow canyon full of water to get to it.
Snow Canyon State Park is also a popular destination here that features a canyon carved from Navajo sandstone.
But because everyone is so invested in going to these spots, for obvious reasons....
Hardly anybody ventures into the Red Cliffs or talks about the Red Reef Trail.
So, this is where we decided to go explore.
We ended up arriving in the evening so we decided to set up camp for the night.
As the sun was going down we explored our nearby surroundings.
In anticipation for the next day, we could not sleep.
On our way to the trail we stopped by the only restaurant in town, it had an awesome classic rock theme to it.
The food here was so delicious that we ended up coming back the following morning.
When we finally found a parking spot, we made the short trek to the first natural pool.
I think most hikers stop at this point and turn back after taking a dip in the water.
However, we wanted to continue on and see what else we may find.
After having an amazing time on the Red Reef Trail, we went across the highway to Quail Creek State Park which was one of the most beautiful landscapes I've ever seen...you'll see.
Rosenbruch Museum - part 1
Babylon Mills Offroad Trail near Leeds, Utah.
For the full offroad trail guide please visit:
One of the most fascinating aspects of exploring southwestern Utah is the amount of history embedded, sometimes literally, in the picturesque landscape. The Babylon area south of Leeds is a place of stunning beauty, where the greenish waters of the Virgin River wind through red rock canyons and the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise wanders among the creosote.
Get the jeep trail details and download a GPS route today at:
Snowy Leeds Utah
Leeds,UT snow
Gila monster near Leeds, UT
Every day is an adventure in Southern Utah.
008 still stuck in leeds utah
Pigs and Peacocks (Leeds, Utah)
The Secret Agents visit a pig farm... and then discover a peacock.
Soundtrack by The Hoover Jam:
JEROME, ARIZONA - AMERICAN'S OLDEST GHOST TOWN - September 1, 2012
My trip to Jerome, Arizona, a copper mining town also known as the oldest ghost town in America.
At Leeds utah in 2017
Andy helping tio juan
The Historical Pioneer Mine
The Pioneer and surrounding mines in Ely produced top grade ore, were vital to the war effort, and was a lucrative but dangerous place to mine. Don't miss the in-depth story that will run in MINE, a mining special section on July 31, 2013.
Ghost Town, near Bryce Canyon Utah
For a map, directions, pictures, and information visit
Red Reef Trail in Red Cliffs Recreation Area - Video 4
For pictures and description, see