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Show CHARM of SILVER REEF Mis. Zoella Benson, secretary, boa Mission Camp DUP Silver Reef, a fabulous mining town of over half a century ago still holds interest for visitors as indicated by some 30 people who visited the ghost town this week. The two Cedar City camps of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers Pio-neers sponsored a trip with Dr. William R. Palmer as auth-orative auth-orative guide. The reef held the strangest deposit of silver in the world. From 1876 to 1903 it yield-1 ed silver valued at $10,500,000. History and stories were told by Dr. Palmer as the members of the DUP and other interested people viewed the buildings and went over the site of the old "vn. The population of Silver Reef swelled to 3,000 In Its greatest productivity. The Wells Fargo Bank building, build-ing, which is now used as an office for a modern uranium and gold mining company, was first visited. Inside the building the original safe still stands. It often held great amounts of money, and an armed guard watched it at all times. A bunk bed was built on top of the safe so that the armed guard could sleep there at night. A large sandstone slab on which passengers alighted when arriving by stage coach is still In front of the building. Mrs. Grimes' boarding house was next to the bank. On up the street were merchandise stores, hotels, saloons, a Chinese laundry, laun-dry, barber shops and lumber mills. Among them was Sam Wing's store. All visitors took home souvenirs from the China, man's store as he was famous for his novelties. Also among the town's buildings were a Catholic church,' a hospital and a school house. There was the Houston and West livery stable where one could rent a fine pair of horses and a buggy, or people could have their own team fed or bedded for the night, or buy or sell grain and hay. Most of these buildings have been torn down with only a few walls or markers to Indicate where they had stood. Many Interesting stories of the town's early history were told by Dr. Palmer, including the many versions of how It became known that the sandstone In the area contained silver. Among the Interesting tales was one about the owner of the "hurdy" house, or dance hall. A woman crazed by drink shot the proprietor, who died the follow-lng follow-lng morning. His money could not be found. After his death the building was occupied as a store until Silver Reef closed. It was then sold to Peter Anderson who was developing a ranch near Toquervllle. When Mr. Anderson was removing a mopboard from the south wall he found a leather leath-er sack containing gold coin. Guesses were that it contained from $2000 to $10,000. When the word leaked out about the cache of gold there was a rush to buy old buildings at the site and the hunt was on for further buried bur-ied treasures. The race track, now an alfalfa field, was one of the gay spots of the town. Horse owners from the Sevier and valleys to the north and south took their horses to sunny Silver Reef for horse racing. Indians, In paint and feathers; cowboys, old prospectors, prospect-ors, professional and tin horn gamblers, ladles gay in their feminine finery, all gathered at the races. A temporary bar was set up to dispense refreshments. The town did not only have its gay side, but was also the scene of many tragedies and vio. lent death. The. Carblns-Forrest tragedy stirred the camp perhaps more than any other. By order of Supt. Johnson Vivian of the Stormont Mining Company, Ml- ehael Carbls, foreman, discharged discharg-ed Tom Forrest, an agitator. The following morning as Carbls was on his way to the Buckeye Mine, he was stabbed by Forrest, There were open threats of lynching. Forrest was Jailed,, but as the funeral was being held. Forrest was taken to the county Jail at St. George. That night a mob ap-peared. ap-peared. overpowered Sheriff Hardy Har-dy and took possession of Forrest. For-rest. The mob attempted to hang him from a telegraph pole, but were unable to get their rope over the crosswlres. They then dragged him to a large cotton wood tree in front of George Cot-tarn's Cot-tarn's hous. whe he wm hnn. ed td at limb. The town wag, along with others who ap- peared the next morning, said, "I have watched that tree grow for 20 years and this is the first time it has borne fruit." Although Al-though TS years have passed, old timers still remember the shock of seeing a body hanging from a tree in St. George. Silver Reef as a mining town is a memory to a very few, bul Its stories have lived. Its beauty Is still apparent In the desert flowers that are now putting forth their gorgeous blooms. |