Silver was discovered in Jefferson Canyon in August 1865 but the town of Jefferson was not platted until 1874 when two mills to process the silver from the mines where built. At its peak, Jefferson had a post office, Wells Fargo office, seven saloons, three restaurants, two bakeries, a brewery, butcher shop, barbershop, a lumberyard, a school, and 100s homes, 20 of which were frame homes. A toll road was built over Jefferson Peak and the Belmont =-Austin Stage line came through town. Its population reached 800 people. The peak years for Jefferson were 1875 and 1876, when it produced almost $1.5 million in silver. But the mills were operating sporadically and many families began to leave, and only five students were left in the school. In January 1879 the mine company folded and the post office closed. By August of that year the Belmont-Austin stage line was rerouted and no longer went through Jefferson. There was a couple of revivals, the last one ending in 1933.