Originally known as Daileyville after James Dailey, a local mine manager, the inhabitants soon changed the name to Silver Creek after the local stream[3] that flows into Clear Creek near Lawson.

[2] The town was first settled around 1875 when silver ore deposits[4] were discovered in the area; however, it was not officially incorporated until 1885.

[5] The mines that supported the town were mostly closed after the 1893 silver crash, but reopened with the demand for metals leading up to and during World War I.

By the 1970s only an old mill and a few building foundations made of stone were left.

[5] Silver Creek was the nearest settlement to the home of Annie Wilkes in the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King's Misery.