Location, Culture, Counter-Culture
9,253' above sea level in the Indian Peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder County
Location
“It’s in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a national forest and just below a wilderness area . . .”
Located 50 miles northwest of Denver and 17 miles up Left Hand Canyon from the busy town of Boulder, Ward is a small mountain community at the base of the Continental Divide in the Indian Peaks of the Rocky Mountains. The little town of Ward is home to 160 people and many dogs. The Ward community includes many more who live outside of the town limits.
Some say the town is made of radical poets, bohemian PhDs and troubled woodsmen. It is said that they are kind people, but most decamped to 9,253 feet to be left alone and it's not a place to linger (Orr, Francine. LA Times, Oct 1 2006).
Local Ward blacksmiths in BallyVaughan, Ireland, by Bruce McCloskey, 2005
The Town of Ward has remained small, in part, because of its intense winter weather, its reputation for a standoffish alternative culture, and because it is (purposefully?) littered with old junkyard cars, designed to keep outsiders away.
Winter - Left Hand Canyon
Summer view of Ward, Colorado
Ward, Colorado - January
Ward is located at an altitude of 9253' at the top of Left Hand Canyon and while surrounded by some of the most majestic scenery in the world, it is considered inhospitable by many in the winter.
Continental Divide by Ann Gillis
From the Ward area, panoramic views of the peaks of the Continental Divide can been seen.
Niwot Aspens, by Carol Jenkins
On a clear day, one can also look down to the Colorado plains and see Denver and Boulder in the distance. Frequently Ward lies above the clouds and enjoys sunny days while Denver and Boulder are "socked in" below.
View of plains from Ward area
Profile - Ward, Colorado Today
Ward was revitalized by counter-culture in 1960's and 70's
Former Ward Town Marshall**
Ward was a booming gold mining town from the 1870's to 1920. It became a center for alpine tourism from 1898 - 1920 when visitors traveled by train from Boulder to Ward on the famous Switzerland Trail.
Georgia O'Keeffe came to Ward in 1917 and painted landscapes and an oil painting, Ward, Church Bell.
Throughout the 1930's, 40's, and 50's, Ward shrank to almost a ghost town. Ward changed again in the late 1960's and early 1970's when rediscovered and resettled by well-educated hippies.
In the 70's, the new residents elected a new mayor and town council. The Town Charter was rewritten as a home-rule, direct democracy (and signed according to astrological significance). Street lights were removed (so you could see the stars at night). Abandoned cabins were inhabited, the library and firehouse were built, children were born, and families raised.
Crimmins cabin with new addition
Ward community residents
The Ward community today is home to artists, poets, writers, musicians, builders, electricians, blacksmiths, miners, housekeepers, cooks, school teachers, snow plow drivers, health care workers, computer geeks, entrepreneurs, day traders, retirees, woodsmen, and many families and hardy folk who love the beauty of the mountains and are willing to endure the commute and/or the winds and solitude of winter at an altitude of 9,253'.
Ward is home to folks who are liberal, independent, who want to be left alone by real estate developers and intrusive government regulations, and who are committed to maintaining the community mountain lifestyle.
Ward's Reputation - Next
Please note: This website is a non-profit educational site. No paid advertising is accepted.
Unless otherwise indicated all black and white photographs courtesy of Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, (Ward, Colorado; Mines; Switzerland Trail) or Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, Boulder Historical Society Collection. (PublicDomain-old-50 and/or PD pre-1923/PD-USGov; others claimed under fair use domain)
Hi, I'm glad you had the chance to view this Ward website. Please let me know what you think by contacting me at the e-mail address listed below. Your input is important and your suggestions will be used to help improve it. I'd especially like to include what Ward has meant to you/experiences you have had in Ward/reminiscences of the area/contributions to Ward history, etc. Thanks!
