In 1880, the towns of Leeds and Silver Reef in southwestern Utah were just two miles away from each other. But in many ways, they were worlds apart.
Leeds was a quiet farming community with 334 people. By contrast, Silver Reef quickly turned into a bustling cosmopolitan boomtown with more than 1,000 residents who came to seek riches in its mines.
Despite their differences, Silver Reef Museum curator Pat Cundick said Leeds benefited from its neighbor. Silver Reef brought real money into an area that was previously a barter economy. And Leeds’ agriculture provided food for the miners.
“The way these people managed the change was not to resist and not to dislike the person that brought it in, but to see what's in it for us.”
As the price of silver dropped, however, the mining industry moved on. By 1900, Silver Reef was a ghost town.
Leeds, on the other hand, found ways to carry on. Its population has grown slowly over the decades to reach 798 people today. It’s still less than Silver Reef at its short-lived peak, but enough to keep going.
It all comes down to being adaptable, said museum board member Glen Zumwalt.
“In order to keep rural communities alive, there has to be change. That's just shown time and time again,” he said. “The ones that have survived have found ways to do it.”
A new exhibit comparing the diverging paths of these two towns is part of an endeavor to start conversations about the sustainability of rural communities. It’s the museum’s addition to a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit titled Crossroads: Change in Rural America.
Leeds is a prime example of the transitions rural communities nationwide have had to make to stay afloat over the decades, Zumwalt said.
Residents first adapted by selling their produce to the miners and learning skills that complemented that industry, such as hauling. So after the boom went bust, they translated those skills into other things like transporting their crops and fruits to sell to other towns.
“They learned how to market their goods and services [so] they didn't go away when the mining community went away. They were persistent.”
The town adjusted again in 1933 when the Civilian Conservation Corps came to town, doubling Leeds’ population and giving rise to businesses that served the camp’s workers. Then in the 1970s, the completion of I-15 meant many travelers who used to drive through downtown on U.S. 91 and stop at local shops took their business elsewhere.
If the town hadn’t been open to making all of those past transitions, Zumwalt said, it wouldn’t be here today.
“And I think the folks that live here ought to just be thinking in the same way.”
Especially for towns that depend on industries like mining, he said, there needs to be a plan B. As recreation brings more and more visitors to southwest Utah, many communities have turned to tourism.
Zumwalt has seen this type of transition up close. He worked in the mining industry for three decades in rural Utah and Wyoming before retiring and moving to Leeds 14 years ago. These days, you can find him dressed in an 1880s miner’s outfit as a volunteer tour guide at the museum.
Now, Leeds faces its next transition: Growth.
As Washington County’s population continues to expand, it is reaching more of the outlying communities like Leeds, which is 20 miles northeast of St. George.
“Change is coming. It will be inevitable,” he said. “Not everybody wants to see it. But there are a lot of people who would like to see it. That's going to be the truth practically anywhere you go.”
A proposed housing development nearby could also bring thousands of new residents to the area, Zumwalt said, and residents have mixed feelings about it. Some like the idea of maybe getting a grocery store or new restaurants, but others worry about increased traffic or how growth could change the town’s rural character.
“Time marches on and people move around and you can't stop that,” Cundick said. “If you try to stop change, you would just get rolled over and you won't be part of the conversation.”
The better move, she said, is to get involved so that you can help shape what your community becomes next.
With more growth coming to this part of Utah, she’s hopeful residents will follow the lessons from Leeds’ past and find ways to welcome and influence future changes rather than slamming the door.
“Nostalgia for the past is not the same thing as what you do in the present. I don't think you can go backwards, so you need to go forwards and be part of what happens.”
The Crossroads: Change in Rural America exhibit is on display through April 28, 2024.
