Town in Utah Ended When Mine Collapsed and Buried a Rich Vein of Silver

One of Utah’s most productive silver mines collapsed and buried the rich vein they were extracting silver from. It makes you wonder how much silver is still lying below the sage brush and sand of Southern Utah. 

Silver Mine was One of the Highest Producing in U.S. 

Frisco is a ghost town about 15 miles from Milford in Utah. It sits near the San Francisco mountains and is how the town got its name. Silver was discovered in the area in 1875, and they ended up pulling $60 million dollar's worth of metal out of the ground.  

The town boomed with a peak population of 6,000 people with multiple bars and brothels and all the wild gunfights that come with it. At one time a sheriff was hire told the people he wasn’t building a jail because he planned on shooting anyone getting out of line. 

So, what happened to make this place a ghost town? Did the silver run out? It was something else that brought an end to Frisco that makes you wonder what is still down there. 

Cave-In Rattled People All the Way in Milford 

In 1885 the people of Frisco felt tremors rumble through the ground. All the miners were quickly brought out of the mine and a good thing they were as tunnels below collapsed all the way down including in the highest producing part of the mine. 

It was such a big cave-in that it rumbled the town of Milford 15 miles away. This collapse eventually led to the closure of the mine and the end of the town. But the thing is, they never finished bringing all the silver out. 

The mine was reopened and a shaft sunk from higher up to get to the collapsed part of the mine. This was partially successful. Now that shaft has been sealed up by the state and no one is allowed in.  

Read More: Look For This Plant in Utah to Find Gold Deposits

It makes you wonder what kind of silver and other precious metals remain down there. Did they leave a significant vein or two untapped?