Ward, Colorado
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Ward is a
home rule municipality Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
in Boulder County,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
at nearby Gold Hill. Once one of the richest towns in the state during the
Colorado Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 ...
, it is located on a mountainside at the top of Left Hand Canyon, near the
Peak to Peak Highway The Peak to Peak Scenic Byway is a National Forest Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Gilpin, Boulder, Larimer counties, Colorado, USA. The Peak to Peak Highway was originally built in 1918 and provides views of th ...
( State Highway 72) northwest of Boulder at an elevation of above sea level.


History

The town was named for Calvin Ward, who prospected a claim in 1860 on the site known as Miser's Dream. The town boomed the following year with the discovery by Cyrus 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 Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
. A
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
with the name Ward District was established January 13, 1863; the name was changed to Ward, September 11, 1894.Bauer, William H., Ozment, James L., Willard, John H. (1990) ''Colorado Post Offices, 1869–1989'', p. 148. Golden, Colorado: The Colorado Railroad Museum. . 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 (1,220 m) from Boulder over the course of . In January 1900 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. During WWII the town's year-round population dropped to four people. Then, in the 1960s, the town's population jumped from between 10-20 year-round residents to well over 100 due to the town's interest to hippies. The town has several businesses along its main street, including a restaurant, a coffee shop, an art gallery, and general store.


Geography

Ward is located at (40.072347, -105.510131). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the town has a total area of , all of it land.


Demographics

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 150 people, 75 households, and 36 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 82 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.82%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, and 1.18% from two or more races. There were 75 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.7% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2 and the average family size was 2.67. The age of the town's populace was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 32% from 25 to 44, 35.3% from 45 to 64, and 8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 154.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.7 males. In 2000, 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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the town was $14,900. None of the population or families were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
.


Notable people

* Hazel Schmoll, botanist


See also

* Outline of Colorado **
Index of Colorado-related articles This is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Colorado. 0–9 * .co.us – Internet second-level domain for the State of Colorado * 4 Corners ** 4 Corners Monument * 6th Principal Meridian * 10-mile Range * 10th ...
* State of Colorado ** Colorado cities and towns ***
Colorado municipalities The U.S. State of Colorado has 272 active incorporated municipalities, comprising 197 towns, 73 cities, and two consolidated city and county governments. At the 2020 United States Census, 4,299,942 of the 5,773,714 Colorado residents (74.47%) ...
**
Colorado counties The U.S. State of Colorado is divided into 64 counties. Two of these counties, the City and County of Broomfield and the City and County of Denver, have consolidated city and county governments. Denver serves as the state capital. Counties are ...
***
Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises ...
** List of statistical areas in Colorado *** Front Range Urban Corridor ***
North Central Colorado Urban Area 240px, An enlargeable map of the 13-county North Central Colorado Urban Area The North Central Colorado Urban Area comprises the four contiguous metropolitan statistical areas in the north central region of the State of Colorado: the Denver–Au ...
*** Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO Combined Statistical Area *** Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area *
Roosevelt National Forest The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly wit ...
* 2013 Colorado floods


References


External links


Town contacts

CDOT map of WardWard, Colorado: a slice of Appalachia in the RockiesWard, Colorado, a revitalized gold-mining ghost town
{{authority control Towns in Colorado Towns in Boulder County, Colorado