WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
ELK HORN SALOON
Silver Reef, Utah
LOCATION
Main StreetSilver Reef, Utah
This needs to be checked:
37° 15' 12.4" North Latitude, 113° 22' 1.1" West Longitude
37.2534° North Latitude, 113.3670° West Longitude
3,815 feet (1,163 meters) MSL
The saloon was on the east side of Main Street. It was just north of the Louder General Store, just south of
the Case/Wagner Drug Store, and across the street from the Wells Fargo Express Office.
The building is no longer standing.
DESCRIPTION
The wood building faced west onto Main Street.There was an adjoining dance hall.
In the SUU-0029 photo below, the lighter wood / lower facade (behind a team of horses) part of the building
adjoining the Louder Store is part of the Elk Horn Saloon. There was also a small alley between the two
buildings which that part of the structure hides.
The saloon was most noted for a pair of elk horns mounted above the doorway (they are now on display at
the Silver Reef Museum).
HISTORY
This saloon was owned and run by George Miller from about 1877 to about 1892.They served free salty foods so that customers would spend more on drinks.
The saloon was conveniently located close to the jail and was often used as a courtroom.
In 1981, Dr. Robert L. Schuyler brought a field school from Penn to carry out a survey and surface collection of
the Main Street and Chinatown area of Silver Reef. Then in 1982, he returned with a team from the University
of Pennsylvania and excavated the old Elk Horn Saloon site.
PHOTOS
SUU-0029 Elk Horn Saloon (left) and Louder General Store (right) around 1890
WCHS photos:
WCHS-01812 Photo of a gambler's good luck charm from the Elk Horn Saloon
REFERENCES
George MillerA research report by Elaine Young, PhD.