Ward Cemetery
White Pine County, Nevada

Township 14N, Range 63E, SE 1/4 of NW 1/4 of Sec 13
Lat: 39° 42' 10"N, Lon: 114° 34' 58"W
Contributed by Donna Frederick

Drive south from Ely on US 50 5.6 miles. Area is accessible with two-wheel drive. Well maintained gravel road goes to Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park. Exit right (west) on gravel road for 7 miles. Exit right (North) and follow for three miles to Ward.

Not much remains at Ward today. Ruins scattered throughout a large area. A good road, built by Silver King Mines in the 1960s, goes past the main cemetery and some of the ruins and is not the original road through the town. Several buildings were demolished to put this road in. The mine at the end of this road is fenced, with a locked gate and is private property, marked as such. A large section of old foundations are across the ravine from the main cemetery.

The first school in Ward was organized in the fall of 1876 with 50 students in attendance. A post office was established Jan 02, 1877 and the town of Ward grew to a population of 1,500 that year. Ward Post Office continued in operation until Sep 07, 1887 when Ely became the postal designation for it’s patrons.

The first know death in the Ward district was Charles H. Becker. Becker was not well known in the Ward District. Ironically, on the day of his death, Deputy Assessor Comins had ascertained his name, age and nativity for census records or nothing would have been known.
- Donna Frederick

     NAME                   BIRTH         DEATH                 COMMENTS
===========================================================================================
Becker, Charles H.                   18 Aug 1875    Ref. White Pine News, 28 Aug 1875yr
Campton, Jennie                      25 Aug 1878    age: 29yr, Wife of Nathaniel Luse, 
Campton, Sadie                       11 Jul 1878    age: 22yr, Campton & Ragsdale share
                                                    a common marker with names inscribed
                                                    around. Individual stones with their
                                                    initial's mark the graves
Gleeson, Martin                      28 Apr 1877    Mineral City, Nevada, age: 37yr, Native
                                                    of Queens Co. Ireland,Requiescat in pace,
                                                    Killed by John Roche, Ref. Ward 
                                                    Semi-weekly Reflex - Apr 29, 1877 yr
Liddle, (?)osep        26 Nov 1839   18 May 1886    age: 46 yrs, 5 mo. 22 days, 'Sleep 
                                                    father, sleep, Thy toils are over, Sweet
                                                    be thy rest so oft longed for before. We
                                                    love thee, but God loved thee more, He 
                                                    has called thee home to that happy shore
Ragsdale, John                          no dates    age: 70yr
Ragsdale, Lucinda                           1885    age: 66yr
Sampson, A. Hiram                       Feb 1880    age: 29y, 12d, Niles Mich,'God is Love', 
                                                    Son of E.M. & M.A. Sampson

Township 14N Range 63E Sec 14
Lat: 39°04'24"N, Lon: 114°51'38"W
Contributed by Donna Frederick

These isolated graves are less than a mile south west of the Ward Cemetery.

Ward Weekly Reflex - Sep 13, 1879 states that Chapman had been employed at the Martin White Mill for about six months before his death. The papers never gave the cause of his death, except reported he was seriously ill, then died. He was buried the day after his death.

There are about three graves in this area about 200 yards apart. Two have the fallen palings, but Chapmans is a nice marble monument resting against a Cedar Tree.
- Donna Frederick


Chapman, Jesse F.                       Sep 15, 1879    Aged 18 Years 7 Mos 13 Days, Eldest
                                                        son of HL & SL Chapman, "Sleep on 
                                                        dear boy, Thy friends shall long 
                                                        lament And friendship tear shall be
                                                        thy monument."
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