High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Silver Reef is a ghost town in Washington County, Utah, United States, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of St. George and 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Leeds. Silver Reef was 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. He staked 21 claims, resulting in an influx of miners, who came to work Barbee`s claims and to stake their own. To accommodate the miners, Barbee established a town called Bonanza City. Property values in Bonanza City were high, so several miners settled on a ridge north of Bonanza City and named their settlement "Rockpile". When the silver mines in nearby Pioche closed, businessmen came to "Rockpile". Soon after, the town was renamed Silver Reef.