Ward Mining District

Ward made a fast, hard fortune. Booming from 1876, it ran to fifteen hundred people and a reputation to match — what law there was came from a vigilante committee and a rope, and a single chamber of the Ward Mine reportedly gave up a million dollars in silver. The town's priorities showed: an abandoned house served as the first school, and no one ever got around to building a church. By the late 1880s it was empty, with brief revivals in 1906 and the 1960s. The charcoal ovens that fed its smelters still stand to the south.

What the plaque says

Silver Ore. The ghost town of Ward, in the foothills of the Egan Range, lies some eight miles west of here. Booming from 1876 until 1882, with a peak population of 1,500, Ward was somewhat of a lawless mining camp. Early killings did occur, but justice was meted out by the vigilante committee and the hanging rope. A million dollars worth of silver was taken from a single chamber of the Ward Mine, yet the abandoned house was used for the first school and no movement was ever started to build a church. The town was abandoned by the late 1880's, but new discoveries and better mining methods prompted a resurgence of activity in 1906 and again in the 1960's.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ward Charcoal Ovens — 5.1 mi
  Six great stone beehives in the Egan Range — the best-preserved charcoal kilns in Nevada, and the intact relic of the fuel that fed every silver smelter
• Ely — 13 mi
  The copper town and crossroads at the east end of the loneliest road — home of the Ghost Train and the gateway to Great Basin

More markers nearby

• Taylor — steps away
• Ward Charcoal Ovens — 6.1 mi
• Nevada Northern Railway — 13 mi
• Ely, Forging The Link — 13 mi