Silver Reef Museum

Smithsonian Exhibit | Crossroads
2024-03-28 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-27 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-26 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-25 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-23 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-22 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-21 11:00 - 15:00, 2024-03-20 11:00 - 15:00 UTC and 9 more dates | Silver Reef Museum, 1903 Wells Fargo Rd, Leeds, UT, 84746, United States
See our Smithsonian Exhibit | Crossroads page for more information.

Survival in a Harsh Environment: Adaptation and Resilience of Prehistoric People in Southwestern Utah
2024-03-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Boeing Auditorium, Udvar-Hazy Building, Utah Tech University, 225 S 700 E, St. George, UT, 84770
Archaeologist Diana Hawk will illustrate how prehistoric people adapted and thrived in the deserts, mountains and rugged canyonlands of southwestern Utah. Paleoindians, Ancestral Puebloans, Paiutes, and others survived for thousands of years and their living descendants are still here. What can we learn from them?
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Diana Hawk
In her 40 years as a private archaeologist, Utah State Compliance Coordinator and BLM archaeologist and team lead, Diana Hawks was fortunate to have an exciting and satisfying career. She received her associate’s degree in Geology from Ricks College and her Bachelor and Master degrees in Archaeology from Brigham Young University. She continues to teach classes at the Institute for Continued Learning (ICL) at Utah Tech University and educating busloads of Road Scholars on 10-day trips through southern Utah and northern Arizona.
Free! Please Register at http://tinyurl.com/Survival-SoUT

From Isolation to Inundation: How Tourist Travel Changed Southern Utah
2024-02-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Boeing Auditorium, Udvar-Hazy Building, Utah Tech University, 225 S 700 E, St. George, UT, 84770
Lisa will focus on three changes to rural Utah during the 20th century which required dramatic adaptation:
1) the building of the Arrowhead Highway, later I-15 from LA to SLC,
2) the growth of tourism, especially regarding Utah’s 5 national parks, and
3) the reinvention of the rural economies, away from agriculture and toward tourism and services.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Lisa-Michele Church
Lisa-Michele Church’s professional background includes more than 30 years of public and private service as an attorney, historian, and
community activist. She served in the cabinets of two Utah governors where she advocated for issues of social justice from helping individual families negotiate the challenges of mental illness to advocating at a national level for more effective substance abuse prevention strategies during Utah’s methamphetamine epidemic.
In her law practice she served as Vice President/General Counsel at a Fortune 500 company where she was instrumental in negotiating the venue agreements for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. As Executive Director of Utah’s Department of Human Services, Ms. Church addressed child protection, juvenile justice, mental illness, drug addiction, services for people with disabilities, elder abuse, and child support collection. Subsequently, as administrator for Utah’s juvenile court system, she was able to continue her advocacy for youth and families across courts statewide. She worked with judges and court staff to prioritize the needs of underserved youth such as girls in the juvenile justice system and teenagers aging out of foster care without family attachments.
Lisa-Michele is a published historian by avocation and passion. Having grown up in the California and Utah, she is interested in vernacular architecture, especially early 20th century mom-and-pop businesses such as motels, cafes, and grocery stores. She speaks often on topics of tourism, iconic neon signs, vintage apartment buildings, and road-building throughout Utah.

“Where Dixie Began: Pioneer Heritage that Inspires Our Future” Panel Discussion
2024-02-22 18:00 - 19:00 | Cotton Town, 25 North 300 East, Washington, UT, 84780
Panel Discussion by:: Mayor Kress Staheli, George Staheli, Carmen Snow, Mike Harless, Kurt Ivie, Ed Tracy and Jordan Hess as moderator.
The panel consists of local lifetime residential and community members of Washington City that cherish the history of the pioneers and
those that sacrificed, had strength and showed faith by continuing to keep the heritage alive while growing in the 20th century. They are the Heart of Dixie.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR: JORDAN HESS
Jordan Hess was born in Bountiful, Utah. He received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University and a Master’s Degree in Political Management and Legislative Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington DC. Hess then spent three years as a Director at The Heritage Foundation in DC before moving back to Utah. In 2020, Jordan moved to southern Utah where he served as Vice President of the St George Area Chamber of Commerce before joining the staff at Washington City. Jordan is currently the Legislative Affairs Director for the city and loves his job! In his free time you will see him hiking, canyoneering, golfing, and serving with the Chamber, Rotary, and other civic organizations.

History of Politics in Silver Reef
2023-11-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Silver Reef Museum, 1903 Wells Fargo Rd, Leeds, UT, 84746, United States

Ghost Nights - Oct 27 & 28, 2023
2023-10-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Silver Reef Museum, 1903 Wells Fargo Rd, Leeds, UT, 84746, United States
Ghost Nights
Location: Silver Reef Museum
October 27 & 28
7-9PM
Admission is $8.00 ea. by reservation or $8.50 ea. at the door based on availability.
Click link in bio to register
Come celebrate Halloween with a trip back in time to meet the ghosts of some long-gone citizens of a 19th Century mining town. These folks came from all over the world and made Silver Reef a booming settlement that, for a while, was the largest and most exciting town in Southern Utah.
Join us if you want a bit of ghostly fun mixed with real history. You will laugh, learn and maybe even shiver as you listen to tales about life in the Old West!
Important Information About This Event
*Please arrive 15-20 minutes early to park your vehicle and check in.
*You will be assigned a Ghostorical Site to start the tour at check in.
*Please wear comfortable shoes & appropriate clothing as per weather.
*Bring a flashlight as paths are rocky and uneven.
Reservations suggested:
Silver Reef Museum
https://form.jotform.com/232656087938167
or 435.879.2254
Portfolio

1903 Wells Fargo Rd Leeds, UT 84746
SILVER REEF
UTAH

Exploring the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve
2023-03-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Silver Reef Museum, 1903 Wells Fargo Rd, Leeds, UT, 84746, United States
The presentation will introduce visitors to the incredible wildlife of Southern Utah and share the history of a nature reserve just beyond resident’s backyards.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER:

Ammon Teare is the outreach and education coordinator for the Washington County HCP. With a lifelong love of the outdoors, Ammon has always been a passionate advocate for wildlife conservation and responsible land management. In his day-to-day work he leads the planning, coordination and implementation of public education programs supporting the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

Established in 1996, the reserve is a model for compromise between development and wildlife conservation. The listing of the Mojave Desert tortoise as “threatened” in 1990 led to the creation of a habitat conservation plan (HCP), which in turn protected over 60,000 acres of prime tortoise habitat and created a management plan for tortoises found on private or state land throughout the county. Now, the reserve has grown and, in addition to providing world-class recreation opportunities, continues to protect the desert tortoise and countless other native plant and animal species.

When he’s not visiting local classrooms to introduce kids to desert wildlife or staffing a booth at a community event, Ammon occasionally assists the county biologist and HCP administrator with research and management centered on the desert tortoise. In his spare time, you can find Ammon hiking and backpacking throughout the West, playing basketball or pickle ball at local parks, and spending time with his family.
