WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
THE SILVER REEF MINER (aka THE MINER)
Silver Reef, Utah
LOCATION
Silver Reef, UtahHISTORY
In 1878, George W. Crouch and James N. Louder bought the Silver Reef Echo from Joseph E. Johnson and renamed it The Silver Reef Miner. They paid $550 in one initial payment for:
and two promissory notes to be paid within six months. If the amounts were not paid when due, then Johnson would be able to sell at public auction. A letter from George Crouch to Joseph Johnson on May 18, 1879 indicated that he would pay but would claim a reasonable rebate on some items that were not satisfactory, and they would need a little more time. The next day another letter indicated that George had sold the press and material to Messrs. Pike and Dunham and would make payment as soon as the money was obtained. The two promissory notes were still attached to the contract, so it is unknown if those payments were ever made. It is interesting to note that Johnson retained the right to have one column of advertising in each issue of the paper for one year, free of charge.
The Silver Reef Miner was published semi-weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays with the first issue published in August of 1878. It was four pages long, each page measuring 19x26 inches. An annual subscription cost $8.15
During its first two years, the Miner was edited by Scipio A. Kenner (for whom the town of Scipio is named), Mr. Buser and Mr. Pike, and later the English-born Pike brothers, Edward and John.
Edward and John Pike bought the paper in October 1879. It supported the business owners and miners, and advertised the advantages of the town. It opposed the Chinese and their businesses, the Mormon authorities, and ridiculed other newspapers in the area.
In April 1881, Edward and John Pike sold the paper to James N. Louder and H. H. Steele. The Miner slowed to a weekly in 1881, then semi-weekly in 1882. The last known edition of the paper was in February of 1883.
PHOTOS
TBDREFERENCES
Libraries that Have It: The Silver Reef miner. (Silver Reef, Washington County, Utah) 1878-1883Library of Congress list
Issues of the Silver Reef Miner online
From the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah
Southern Utah Memories: Newspapers of Washington County, Utah, 1864 to 1994 - Part 1 of a two-part series
by Loren R. Webb, December 15, 2012
George William Crouch
A research report by Elaine Young, PhD.