WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
SILVER REEF JAIL
Silver Reef, Utah
LOCATION
TBD37° ??' ??.??" North Latitude, 113° ??' ??.??" West Longitude
37.????° North Latitude, 113.????° West Longitude
?,??? feet (?,??? meters) elevation
DESCRIPTION
The jail measures about 12 feet by 12 feet. The walls of the jail consisted of two thicknesses of heavy woodplanks, two inches thick and twelve inches wide. There were two small windows with iron bars.
HISTORY
The jail was originally located at Center and East Streets in Silver Reef.Sometime (maybe around 1895), the old wood jail was moved to the William? Stirling property in Leeds
(Center Street & Valley Road ???). It was used for storing ice, cut in the winter and used throughout the spring
and maybe into summer.
Sometime before 1918 (when the Schmutz family bought the property), Andrew Hyrum Larson bought the
building from the Stirling family and moved it to 100 West and 200 South ??? in Washington for use
as a granary.
Note: On the 1873 survey of Washington City, Andrew Larson owned Lot 3 on Block 10. That would have been
the northwest quarter of the block, or the southeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and 200 South.
The Schmutz family had two boys and four girls there. One of he girls, Afton Schmutz, married Hugh "Red"
Gibson and the property passed to them.
At some point, Red Gibson moved the old jail to the west side of a pasture at approximately
300 West and 250 South in Washington:
37° 7' 37.93" North Latitude, 113° 30' 53.52" West Longitude
37.1272° North Latitude, 113.5149° West Longitude
2,737 feet (834 meters) elevation
There it was used as a granary and auxiliary storage building.
In the spring of 2017, the Gibsons donated the old Silver Reef Jail building to the Silver Reef Foundation.
It was moved from Washington back to Silver Reef on June 6, 2017.
Moving was an Eagle Scout project for five prospective Eagle Scouts.
PHOTOS
WCHS photos:WCHS-03415 Photo of the Silver Reef Jail while located in Washington
WCHS-03416 Photo of the Silver Reef Jail while located in Washington
WCHS-03417 Photo of the back side of the Silver Reef Jail while located in Washington
REFERENCES
I Was Called to DixieBook by Andrew Karl Larson
The Deseret News Press 1961
Page 324 (see Footnote 23 at the bottom of the page)
"The old jail from Silver Reef is now standing on the lot at the home of Clark Schmutz in Washington.
My father, Andrew H. Larson bought the jail from someone in Leeds and moved it to its present location
for use as a granary (He owned the Schmutz lot and built the house on it. I was born there). One of its
two small windows still has its iron bars. Its walls consist of two thicknesses of heavy plank, two inches
thick and twelve inches wide."
Utah's Dixie Birthplace: Washington City, Utah
Book compiled by Harold P. Cahoon & Priscilla J. Cahoon
Washington City Historical Society, 1996
Pages 72, 270, 273
My Story of Silver Reef
Book by Wilma C. Beal
Published by Heritage Press, 1987 (2nd Printing)
Pages 16-17
Historic Jail Returns Home, Old building moved to Silver Reef Tuesday
Article my Brian Passey
Southern Utah Weekly Spotlight, Week of June 11, 2017