Wards Charcoal Ovens
by Robert Bales
Title
Wards Charcoal Ovens
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
A view of the six charcoal overs used for smelting gold and sliver.
Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic State Park is a Nevada state park in White Pine County, Nevada. Located 20 miles south of the town of Ely, it is in the Eastern Nevada Region of Nevada State Parks.
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 1876. Mining revived briefly in the 1930s and 1960s. The town has been mostly destroyed by repeated flash flooding in its low-lying site. Only the smelter, mill foundations and a 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 built in 1876 by itinerant Italian masons who specialized in the ovens, who were known as carbonari.[citation needed] 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 a day. The Ward ovens are the best-preserved of their kind in Nevada.
Uploaded
May 23rd, 2012
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Comments (20)
Christopher James
One of your peers nominated this image in the 1000 Views on One Image Group's Special Features Nominations For Promotion #26 . Please help your fellow artists by visiting and passing on the love to another artist in the the 1000 Views on One Image Group....L/F/Tw
Constance Lowery
very beautiful photography. L/F
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks, Constance for the visit, and the wonderful comment along with the LF!!
Michael Mirijan
This wonderful picture is featured on the homepage of the "Pictures for Present" group.
Donna Kennedy
Congratulations Robert! Your beautiful and interesting image has been featured in the group Scenes from Nevada! v/f