Ghost Town: Silver City, Utah

SteveJackson

Moderator & Supporting Member
Site: Silver City, Utah
County, State: Juab, Utah
Years of Occupation: 1869-1935
Status of Site: Open
Classification: Class 1 - Barren Town
Type: Mining
Remnants: Foundations and smelter site
GPS Coordinates: 39.909847 -112.129689
NRHP Reference #: N/A
Date of Last Visit: 11/26/2016

Silver City was born in the midst of several mines in the area. The town almost died before just as it was getting started. Words of riches in Alta and Park City led many miners away from the area. By 1900 over 800 people lived in the town.

In 1902, a fire nearly destroyed the town. At that time, Jesse Knight of Knightsville came onto the scene and invested money in the town including building 100 frame houses, an electricity generating plant, a smelter and a narrow gauge railroad to bring ore in from his surrounding mines.

The smelter operation was not as profitable as hoped and was dismantled and
moved to join the other smelters in Murray in the Salt Lake Valley. Production peaked in 1908 and the town was deserted in the 1930's.

Further Reading:
The Historical Guide to Utah Ghost Towns by Dr Stephen Carr
https://www.amazon.com/Historical-Guide-Utah-Ghost-Towns/dp/091474030X

Directions to Get There:
Follow Hwy 6/50 3.5 miles west/south of Eureka, the road to Silver City is on
the left and is well marked. The smelter site is near the road, the townsite
itself is approximately 1 mile from the highway.

Modern Pictures:
 

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