Horn Silver Smelter

Index For This Page

This page was last updated on June 14, 2026.

Horn Silver Smelter

("Francklyn" was the name of the stations on the Utah Southern and Denver & Rio Grande Western railroads.)

The Horn Silver smelter, owned by the Horn Silver Mining company, was located at about 4200 South and 200 West streets in Murray, on the south side of Big Cottonwood Creek, between the Utah Southern (later UP) railroad on the east, and the D&RGW railroad on the west.

The Horn Silver smelter at Francklyn closed down its primary operations in 1885-1886. The closure of the facility was directly tied to the fortunes of the famous Horn Silver Mine in Beaver County. The timeline of its decline happened in two major phases.

October 11, 1880
The railroad spur to the Horn Silver smelter and sampling works has been completed. The company will soon erect large smelting works at Salt Lake within four months. (Cincinnati Enquirer, October 11, 1880)

On February 12, 1885, a massive, catastrophic cave-in choked off the richest ore bodies of the Horn Silver Mine in Frisco. Around the same time, a corporate scandal erupted involving company management (Charles G. Francklyn and Frank G. Brown) misusing funds. This double blow severely crippled the supply of high-grade lead-silver ore traveling north via the Utah Southern Railroad Extension to the Murray facility.

While the smelter remained in limited production for a few years processing remaining stockpiles, custom ores, and low-grade materials, operations ceased entirely by 1890.

By the late 1880s and early 1890s, the company was actively liquidating assets at the site. Historical financial records from 1889 show the company recording miscellaneous revenue from the "Francklyn Smelter" through the sale of scrap iron, slag, iron ore, and coal, effectively wrapping up the site's history well before ASARCO consolidated the valley's remaining independent lead plants into the giant Murray Smelter setup in 1902.

The Francklyn and Brown, of New York City, controlled both the Horn Silver mine at Frisco, and the Horn Silver smelter in Murray. Charles G. Francklyn was president of the Horn Silver Mining company, and Frank G. Brown was vice president. (New York Tribune, March 20, 1880)

(The control by Francklyn and Brown lasted until October 1888.)

Charles Hughes wrote about the Horn Silver smelter in his 1990 BYU thesis, "The Development of the Smelting Industry in the Central Salt Lake Valley Communities of Midvale, Murray, and Sandy Prior to 1900."

The Horn Silver Smelting works were reported to be one mile north of the Germania, near the Hanauer Smelting Works. (Hughes footnote: Bancroft, History of Utah, 749)

The property on which the Horn Silver was built was acquired from William Atwood on October 4, 1880. (Hughes footnote: Salt Lake County Recorders Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, Abstract Book A-1, 187)

The capacity of the Horn Silver was about 55 tons per day. This production was obtained using five shaft and one reverberatory type furnaces. These works along with the Germania were considered the "best in the country." (Hughes footnote: Bancroft, History of Utah, 749)

The Horn Silver Smelter was constructed in 1881, to smelt ores from the Horn Silver mine located in the Silver Reef district, almost 225 miles to the south. (Hughes footnote: Salt Lake Tribune, May 25, 1881, 3.)

Apparently the owners were under pressure to build their new works near the other Utah smelting works in the Salt Lake Valley.

(editor note: The Horn Silver mine was west of Milford and *not* in the Silver Reef district.)

According to the Utah Historic Building Records survey, the Francklyn smelter was completed in the summer of 1880 and began operations in June 1881.

June 15, 1881
"The manager of the Horn Silver Company telegraphs that the new smelters are in blast; everything going on finely." (Boston Globe, June 15, 1881)

July 10, 1881
From the Salt Lake Herald, July 10, 1881.

The Horn Silver Smelter. - A Herald reporter paid a brief visit to the Horn Silver Works, some seven miles south of this city the other day. In the absence of the superintendent, A. Raht, Esq., the foreman, Mr. E. Gerrich, did the gentlemanly. Only two of the stacks are now running, for the reason that fluxing material in sufficient quantities to keep all running cannot be obtained. In six weeks, however, it is believed that all the stacks can be kept going constantly, if desired.

The erection of the buildings and supervision of the work of putting the machinery in place was directed by Mr. W. H. Jones, master mechanic. The tin and sheet iron work was done by Geo. M. Scott & Co.; the cast iron pieces were furnished by Davis, Howe & Co., and the boilers are the work of Messrs. Haines & Sons. The whole supervision and management was under the direction of Colonel J. M. Lock. From what it was possible to discern in so short a time, the Horn Silver has the model engine room and works of this country, their machinery, especially the engine and six blowers (one to each stack, which were noticed in these columns on the occasion of the starting up for testing the machinery) being features of ingenuity.

The Horn Silver is now in active operation, and the ore is piling in so fast that it is getting hard to control it; but, as said before, fluxing material being so scarce, they will not open out to their entire capacity for a couple of months to come.

July 16, 1881
"The old work on the Horn Silver, reported in recent issues of the Southern Utah Times, is progressing rapidly. No new work has been begun. The smelters here [Frisco] were closed a portion of the week, for repairs, and the bullion product is rather light in consequence thereof. The smelters at Francklyn [Salt Lake Valley] are running satisfactorily, and Major Hill, who has just returned from there, expects that another will be blown in next week. The company shipped three carloads of their own and two of the Frisco Company's bullion this week." (Salt Lake Herald, July 16, 1881)

September 2, 1881
"Two stacks of the Horn Silver smelter at Francklyn are running constantly, and others will soon be started up" (Omaha Daily Bee, September 2, 1881)

November 13, 1881
"At Frisco, the Horn Silver, after much preparatory work, including erection of steam hoisting works, extension of Utah Central Railroad to mine, and building five stacks at Francklyn, near Salt Lake, is ready to begin paying a long series of dividends. The pay chimney is fifty-feet wide by one hundred yards long; the capacity of the mine and furnaces is at least a quarter of a million per month." (Salt Lake Herald, November 13, 1881)

November 25, 1881
"Salt Lake, November 25. — The visitors [from France] spent two days here. Wednesday they were shown about the city by Governor Murphy and through the Horn silver smelters at Francklyn by Major Hill." (Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 25, 1881)

February 1, 1882
"The Horn Silver smelter, south of Salt Lake, on Wednesday [February 1st] started up the fifth stack. It is now working up over a hundred tons of ore per day, and still its appetite is not satisfied." (Salt Lake Herald, February 3, 1882)

March 20, 1882
"Less Time Wanted. Salt Lake City. March 19. — The men at Horn Silver smelters, at Francklyn, numbering one hundred, struck this afternoon for shorter time. They took possession of the works, closed them, and held them under guard, refusing to give way to other men. Superintendent Hill is in consultation with Governor Murray as to whether he shall proceed to recover the works through the courts or call on the military." (The Cleveland Leader, March 20, 1882)

(The news item was carried in well over 20 national newspapers, all dated March 20th, 21st and 22nd, a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but few carried any of the follow-on stories. The smelter men were not concerned, and there was no public interest. "The telegrapher made a mountain out of a mole hill." - Salt Lake Herald, March 30, 1882)

(The strike was the result of the men sending a letter to Superintendent Hill, asking that their work day be reduced from 12 hours to 8 hours, with the same pay. Superintendent Hill refused. The leaders were arrested and taken to Salt Lake City. Superintendent Hill himself put their bail because they were men with families, and had not intended that the situation get so serious. The smelter people took advantage of the shut down to perform some needed repairs during the down time, with the smleter having been in constant operation for five months. - Salt Lake Herald, March 21, 1882; March 23, 1882; March 26, 1882)

(The strike leaders then organized and headed to the Mingo smelter in Sandy to present their case. The Horn Silver smelter began the repairs using workers who were not on strike. The price of lead was despressed, and the Horn Silver mine owners stated that they could easily send their ore to another smelter, which they were planning to do anyway during the repairs. - Salt Lake Herald, March 26, 1882; March 30, 1882)

April 9, 1882
"The Horn Silver Smelter resumed work on Sunday last [April 9], and has been turning bullion out quite lively ever since. The Horn Silver Company shipped eighteen car loads of ore from the mine to its smelter the other day." (Salt Lake Herald, April 13, 1882)

April 18, 1882
"The Horn Silver Company is shipping from twelve to fifteen carloads of ore per day to their Francklyn smelters. The whole five stacks are running to their fullest capacity." (Salt Lake Herald, April 18, 1882)

(Research suggests that the smelter was built in early 1881 at a new station on the Utah Southern called "Francklyn," being named for Charles G. Francklyn, president of the Horn Silver Mining company until late 1887 when he was voted out by the board of directors and a group of shareholders.)

April 15, 1883
Murray Name and Post Office - "The post office until recently at Haynes', on the State Road, and known as South Cottonwood in this county has been removed some distance westward and near to the Francklyn Smelters. Its name has also been changed to that of Murray by which it is now known officially." (Salt Lake Herald, April 15, 1883)

October 16, 1884
"The Horn Silver smelter still continues receiving fifteen cars of ore per day from the mine at Frisco." (Salt Lake Herald, October 16, 1884)

February 25, 1885
"The Horn Silver smelter has closed two furnaces, three being in operation at present." (Deseret News, February 25, 1885)

March 6, 1885
"The Horn Silver smelter will cease running for a short time." (Deseret News, March 6, 1885)

March 6, 1885
"The Horn Silver smelter is still running, and 155 carloads of bullion is now piled up in the yard. At $2,500 per car, the average value, this bullion is worth $387,500. This bullion would fill enough cars to form a train a mile and a quarter long, or nine trains of the usual size. Additional calculations will be published to-morrow, but this is sufficient to show that the Horn Silver is not yet bankrupt." (Salt Lake Evening Democrat, March 6, 1885)

(This figure of $387,500 in 1885 is approximately equal to $14 million in 2026.)

March 27, 1885
"The Horn Silver smelter will suspend operations tomorrow." (Salt Lake Evening Democrat, March 27, 1885)

March 28, 1885
"The Horn Silver smelters at Francklyn shut down their last furnace today, owning to the caves at the mine." (Salt Lake Evening Democrat, March 28, 1885)

March 29, 1885
"The Horn Silver. - Last night the fires at the smelter were raked out, and the force of men discharged, all the ore which was in the yards at the time of the big cave in the mine, having been worked up; there is still a large quantity of bullion stacked up, but at the rate at which shipments are now going forward, it will only be a short time before the yards are bare again. At the mine about fifty men are kept employed, but no estimate has as yet been formed as to when work can be resumed on any larger scale. The cessation of operations at both the Horn Silver mine and smelter forms a very serious set back to the spring business; in wages, supplies and freight the Horn Silver disbursements amounted to over $1,000,000 per annum, and to its workmen alone the company paid about $30,000 a month." (Salt Lake Herald, March 29, 1885)

According to the Utah Historic Building Records survey, the closure of the Francklyn smelter was directly tied to a catastrophic event at the mine it served, the Horn Silver Mine in Frisco, which suffered a major cave-in. The mine closed in February 1885, and the smelter closed soon after, by March 1885. The smelter never reopened and was later dismantled in 1890.

(During March 1889, although the Horn Silver mine was in operation and shipping ore, the Francklyn smelter was selling "flue dust" as flux to other smelters. - Salt Lake Herald, March 26, 1889)

(During August 1889, the Francklyn smelter was being liquidated by the sale of scrap iron, slag, iron ore, and coal. - Salt Lake Herald, August 4, 1889)

May 19, 1901
"Right-of-Way Condemnation. - The Rio Grande Western Railway company yesterday filed suit against the Horn Silver Mining company for the condemnation of a right of way for about a mile long and 100 feet wide over the ground of the defendant at the Horn Silver smelter at Murray. The present track of the company at that point, it is alleged, is in a dangerous condition, and it is necessary to change it for a mile to a new location." (Salt Lake Tribune, May 19, 1901)

June 9, 1901
"Right of Way Suit. - The hearing of the application of the Rio Grande Western Railway company to occupy a strip of land across the Horn Silver smelter property, pending a settlement of the suit for condemnation of the right of way, was concluded yesterday before Judge Hall, and the arguments were set for Monday morning. Testimony was offered by the defendant company tending to show the intention to erect a zinc smelter on land where the changed line of railroad would cut through." (Salt Lake Herald, June 9, 1901)

(Judge Hall found in favor of the railroad company, ordering them to pay the smelting company $50,000 for damages. - Salt Lake Tribune, June 7, 1901)

August 11, 1910
"Selecting Murray Depot Site. - Murray, Aug. 10. — The early erection here of the new union station of the Oregon Short Line and Salt Lake Route is being delayed considerably, owing to the fact that the engineers in charge of the work have been unable to decide upon the site. Where the old station now stands, near the ruins of the Horn Silver smelter, there is not enough available ground for the construction of the depot. Opinions as to the most likely spot have been advanced, and it is the general impression here that the new station will be erected near the American smelter. Just as soon as this work is completed, it is said that the construction will begin." (Salt Lake Tribune, August 11, 1910)

###