Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park

(Redirected from Ward, Nevada) State park in Nevada, United States

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic ParkLocation in Nevada
Location	White Pine County, Nevada, United States
Nearest city	Ely, Nevada
Coordinates	39°02′06″N 114°50′52″W / 39.03500°N 114.84778°W / 39.03500; -114.84778
Area	861.15 acres (348.50 ha)
Elevation	7,054 ft (2,150 m)
Established	1969
Administered by	Nevada Division of State Parks
Visitors	2,532 vehicles (in 2017)
Designation	Nevada state historic park
Website	Official website


Ward Charcoal Ovens
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nevada Historical Markers No. 184


Location	White Pine County, Nevada
Nearest city	Ely, Nevada
Area	1 acre (0.4 ha)
Built	1876
NRHP reference No.	71000491
MARKERS No.	184
Added to NRHP	September 28, 1971

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park is an area designated for historic preservation and public recreation located 20 miles (32 km) south of the town of Ely in White Pine County, Nevada. The 700-acre (280 ha) state park protects beehive-shaped charcoal ovens constructed in the latter half of the 19th century.

History

Ovens

The charcoal ovens are associated with the silver mining ghost town of Ward, Nevada, established in 1876. The town at its peak had a population of 1500, two newspapers, a school, fire department, two smelters, and a stamp mill. The town declined after 1880, with a fire in 1883 destroying a third of the town. The post office closed in 1888. Mining revived briefly in the 1930s and 1960s. The town has been mostly destroyed by repeated flash flooding due to its low-lying site. Only the smelter, mill foundations, and cemetery are left.

The charcoal ovens are two miles to the south of the townsite. Six large ovens remain in excellent repair, 30 feet (9.1 m) high, 27 feet (8.2 m) in diameter, with walls 2 feet (0.61 m) thick at the base. The ovens were in operation from 1876 through 1879. They were built of quartz latite welded tuff by itinerant Swiss Italian masons known as carbonari, who specialized in the ovens. The beehive shape was designed as a more efficient version of the open-pit system that originated in Italy. The charcoal ovens prepared charcoal from locally harvested timber for use in the smelters at Ward, using 30 to 60 bushels of charcoal per ton of ore, for 16,000 bushels (563,840 liters) a day. The Ward ovens are the best-preserved of their kind in Nevada. They were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Park

The area was under private ownership and management until 1956, when the Nevada State Park Commission was offered a permit to protect the ovens. Two privately owned parcels were transferred to the Nevada Department of Wildlife in 1968; and in 1969, 160 acres (64.8 ha) were transferred to the state park system to create a state monument. The area was designated a state park in 1994, when recreational facilities were added to the site.

Activities and amenities

The park offers camping, picnicking, and trails for hiking and mountain biking.

References

"Inventory of State Lands". Nevada Division of State Lands. June 30, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
"Division of State Parks Performance Audit" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. 2018.
"Ward Charcoal Ovens". Nevada’s State Historical Markers. State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
^ "Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park". Nevada State Parks. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ward (historical)
^ Wieprecht, W.E. (June 2, 1971). "National Register of Historic Place Inventory Nomination: Ward Charcoal Ovens". National Park Service. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
^ "History of Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park". Nevada State Parks. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
Diane Bitton; H.B. Britton (November 1983). "Irondale Iron and Steel Plant" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. National Park Service. p. 75. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
"Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park: Facility Condition Analysis" (PDF). Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. May 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2024.

External links

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park Nevada State Parks
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park Trail Map Nevada State Parks

Protected areas of Nevada

Federal

National Parks and Monuments	Avi Kwa Ame NM (BLM) Basin and Range NM (BLM) Death Valley NP Gold Butte NM (BLM) Great Basin NP Tule Springs Fossil Beds NM
National Recreation Areas	Lake Mead Spring Mountains (USFS)
National Forests	Humboldt–Toiyabe Inyo Lake Tahoe Basin
National Conservation Areas	Black Rock Desert–High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails Red Rock Canyon Sloan Canyon
Wilderness Areas	Alta Toquima Arc Dome Arrow Canyon Bald Mountain Becky Peak Big Rocks Black Canyon Black Rock Desert Boundary Peak Bridge Canyon Bristlecone Calico Mountains Clover Mountains Currant Mountain Death Valley Delamar Mountains East Fork High Rock Canyon East Humboldt Eldorado Far South Egans Fortification Range Goshute Canyon Government Peak Grant Range High Rock Canyon High Rock Lake High Schells Highland Ridge Ireteba Peaks Jarbidge Jimbilnan Jumbo Springs La Madre Mountains Lime Canyon Little High Rock Canyon Meadow Valley Range Mormon Mountains Mt Charleston Mt Grafton Mt Irish Mt Moriah Mt Rose Muddy Mountains Nellis Wash North Black Rock Range North Jackson Mountains North McCullough Pahute Peak Parsnip Peak Pinto Valley Quinn Canyon Rainbow Mountain Red Mountain Ruby Mountains Santa Rosa–Paradise Peak Shellback South Egan Range South Jackson Mountains South McCullough South Pahroc Range Spirit Mountain Table Mountain Tunnel Spring Wee Thump Joshua Tree Weepah Spring White Pine Range White Rock Range Worthington Mountains Wovoka
National Wildlife Refuges	Anaho Island Ash Meadows Desert Fallon Moapa Valley Pahranagat Ruby Lake Sheldon Stillwater

State

Historic Parks	Elgin Schoolhouse Fort Churchill Mormon Station Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Ward Charcoal Ovens
Recreation Areas	Big Bend of the Colorado Lahontan Rye Patch South Fork Walker River Wild Horse
Other	Beaver Dam Berlin–Ichthyosaur Cathedral Gorge Cave Lake Dayton Echo Canyon Ice Age Fossils Kershaw–Ryan Lake Tahoe–Nevada Spring Mountain Ranch Spring Valley Valley of Fire Van Sickle Washoe Lake
Previous	Belmont Courthouse Floyd Lamb Walker Lake

Nevada portal

v t e National Register of Historic Places in White Pine County, Nevada
American Legion Hall Bahsahwahbee Baker Ranger Station Capital Theater Central Theater East Ely Depot Ely City Hall and Fire Station Ely L. D. S. Stake Tabernacle Fort Ruby Fort Schellbourne Fort Schellbourne (Boundary Increase) Johnson Lake Mine Historic District Lehman Orchard and Aqueduct Lund Grade School McGill Drug Store Nevada Northern Railway East Ely Yards and Shops Nevada Northern Railway-McGill Depot Osceola (East) Ditch Rhodes Cabin Sunshine Locality U.S. Post Office Ward Charcoal Ovens White Pine County Courthouse
National Register of Historic Places listings in Nevada Nevada State Historic Places by county

National Register of Historic Places in White Pine County, Nevada

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