Ward, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ward (elevation 9,450 ft / 2880 m) is a town in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 169 at the 2000 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of gold at nearby Gold Hill. Once one of the richest towns in the state during the Colorado Gold Rush, it is located on a mountainside at the top of Left Hand Canyon, near the Peak-to-Peak Highway (Colorado State Highway 72) northwest of Boulder.
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[edit] Description
The town is well-known in the region for its rustic feel as an anti-establishment counterculture mountain community, with residents forming an enclosed community wary of outsiders. The town is likewise often viewed with suspicion and puzzlement even by many citizens of liberal-leaning Boulder. The town has received both admiration for its acceptance of outcasts and social misfits, as well as criticism as being a lawless haven for drug users, criminals, and the mentally ill. It also boasts the highest concentration of Ph.D. degree holders in the U.S.
Its high elevation renders it snowbound in heavy snows, with snow lingering throughout much of the springtime. Its abundance of dilapidated buildings from the 19th century heyday, including two churches that date from the 1890s, has made it an off-beat tourist attraction in recent decades, and is sometimes erroneously described as a ghost town. In addition to the many decaying buildings, the town is filled with rusted out and broken down cars, giving it the feeling of a large junkyard. Its location at the top of Left Hand Canyon also makes it a frequent destination for recreational bicyclists from nearby Boulder. A persistent popular rumor has circulated for many years that the town is located atop a rich vein of gold, and that it should be evacuated and razed to extract the ore.
The town was named for Calvin Ward, who prospected a claim on the site known as Miser's Dream. The town boomed the following year with the discovery by Byrus W. Deardorff of the Columbia vein. Over the next several decades the population fluctuated, growing from several hundred to several thousand before declining once again. The mines in the area remained profitable for many decades, with one mine eventually producing over 2 million ounces (62 metric tons) of silver. The city was incorporated in June 1896. The railroad reached the area in 1898, arriving over the Whiplash and Switzerland Trail, which climbed over 4,000 feet (1220 m) from Boulder over the course of 26 miles (42 km). In 1901 over 50 buildings were destroyed by a devastating fire, although the profitability of the mines led to the immediate rebuilding of the town. The town was largely deserted by the 1920s, but the construction of the Peak-to-Peak Highway in the 1930s led to a revival of the town.
The town has several businesses along its main street, including a coffee shop and general store. Often times driving through ward, there is a man with a top hat who sits under the shade of the general store. It is rumored that he will unload his shotgun at you if you do not fully stop at either of the towns two stop signs. Other versions of this rumour offer a banjo instead of, or in addition to, the shotgun, played to the tune of "squeal like a pig!"
[edit] Geography
Ward is located at (40.072347, -105.510131)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 169 people, 71 households, and 40 families residing in the town. The population density was 114.5/km² (296.9/mi²). There were 82 housing units at an average density of 55.5/km² (144.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.82% White, and 1.18% from two or more races.
There were 71 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 0.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,750, and the median income for a family was $50,313. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,900. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Ward, Colorado: a slice of Applachia in the Rockies
- ColoradoVactation.com: Ward, Colorado
- Ghosttowns.com: Ward, Colorado (note Ward is not actually a true ghost town, despite the claim of this site.
- Chronology of Boulder History
- Ghost of Boulder County: Ward
- Ward, Colorado, almost a gold-mining ghost town
