Ward Charcoal Ovens

Constructed during the mid 1870's, these ovens were larger and of finer construction than most others found in Nevada. They measured 27 feet in diameter and 30 feet high, with a capacity of about 35 cords of wood, which was burned for 12 days to produce about 50 bushels of solid charcoal per cord. The charcoal was used in the smelters at nearby Ward, where about 30 to 50 bushels were required to reduce one ton of ore. Each filling of one oven required the total tree crop from 5 or 6 acres of land. During the late 1870's, the hills and mountains around many mining camps were completely stripped of timber for a radius of up to 35 miles. As railroads penetrated the West, charcoal was replaced by coke made from coal, and the charcoal industry faded. Their historical function reflects a now-vanished industry without which the great silver and lead bonanzas of the early West could not have been harvested.

Preston, Nevada · United States