Silver Reef, Utah
On August 19th Dixie Paranormal Society went to Silver Reef, UT. We are currently going through the video, image, and audio from the investigation, and we will post any evidence in the next few days.
In 1866 a prospector discovered silver in the vicinity of the future town of Silver Reef, but he did not develop his find until 1870, at which time he and some friends formed the Harrisburg Mining District and began small-scale operations. In 1874, when prospectors staked out the Leeds claim on White Reef, a sandstone ledge, a small camp originated nearby that came to be known as Silver Reef because of the numerous silver strikes in the area. It reached its peak between 1877 and 1880, when stores and hotels, a bank, a church, and a Wells-Fargo office lined the busy street.
When the mines in Pioche, Nevada, closed in 1875, many of its miners relocated to “Rockpile” and renamed it Silver Reef. Not long after their arrival, the town boasted nine grocery stores, six saloons, five restaurants, and a newspaper. The town’s main street was over a mile long. Fresh from working on the railroad, Chinese workers also migrated to Silver Reef and set up their own Chinatown. Between the town’s peak years, from 1878-1882, the town housed a population of approximately 2,500.
By 1880 a few companies owned most of the mines. The next year the price of silver fell, water seeped into the mines, and stockholders demanded a cut in miners' wages—resulting in a conflict that led to lessee operation of the mines. Between the years 1892 and 1903, the mines shipped $250,000 worth of bullion and produced a total of $10-1/2 million worth of silver ore. Today the town is in ruins. Rotted wooden sidewalks, remnants of adobe and stone walls, and sage-clogged streets characterize the landscape.
By 1884 most of the mines closed due to the decline of the world silver market, the difficulty of pumping water out of the mines, and the decrease of miners’ wages. The last mine shut down in 1891. All four attempts to revive the mines from 1898-1950 failed. Over their lifetime, the mines produced approximately $25 million worth of ore.
Silver Reef is located approximately 18 miles northeast of downtown St. George along the Interstate 15 corridor; Silver Reef still displays some of the ruins of the former boomtown. Once called the finest stone building in Southern Utah, the restored former Wells Fargo Express office, which is on the National Historic Register, now serves as a museum. An old bank is now a gift shop. Nearby stand a restaurant and art gallery. In a canyon just west of the former town, a short trail leads visitors to one of the old stone kilns used to process silver.
The grave of Henry Clark in the Catholic Cemetery
Henry Clifford Clark was born March 13, 1853 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York. By 1870, Henry was living with his parents and brother James in Grass Valley, California. His father was a Carman, James was a quartz miner, and Henry worked in the quartz mill. His sister and her family lived next door; his brother-in-law was also a quartz miner. The Clark family followed the rough mining districts east to Pioche, Nevada and then to Silver Reef in the Utah Territory.
Henry became a very well-known gambler. His young life came to an end during a card game in the faro room of Cassidy's Saloon in Silver Reef on Sunday, December 1, 1878. It appears that there had been a grudge between Sykes Griffen, the dealer, and Henry Clark for some time. On this occasion, the trouble was caused by Sykes refusing to receive "jawbone" bets from Henry. While it is not exactly clear what happened, it appears that Sykes drew his pistol and fired at Henry. Henry was hit and fell dead almost immediately. Sykes fell on top of him and Jimmy Clark (Henry’s brother) onto Sykes. While the parties were down, Sykes was shot in the ankle and hip and his skull fractured by blows from some kind of weapon. He lived for part of the day on Sunday.
Several parties were present during the fracas, but they declined to say anything about it, claiming that there was so much powder-smoke in the room that they could not see who inflicted the injuries on Sykes. Supposition was that, as both of the Clark boys were unarmed, Jimmy took away Sykes' pistol and did the business. Jimmy Clark was arrested and held under $1,500 bail.
Henry was buried in the Silver Reef Catholic Cemetery. His Dad had a handsome monument erected and enclosed his son's grave in a beautiful iron filigree rectangle, shipped from Russia.
Silver Reef is part of our documentary that will take viewers on a trip through some of Utah's historic locations and those locations paranormal activity.
