Ward was an early mining boom town. In 1877 it had a population of about 1500 people. But by 1878 the town begin to dwindle as many of the miners left for new strikes in Taylor, on the opposite side of Steptoe Valley, Ward officially ended in 1888 when the post office closed.

Currently there is very little remaining of the town. Only a few crumbling stone walls and foundations mark its location. The cemetery is better preserved. The famous Ward Charcoal Kilns lie a few miles to the south.

A short distance up the canyon are some abandoned metal buildings from a modern mining operation.

Posted August 2010.

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