Ward Charcoal Ovens Nevada
The beehive shaped ovens replaced an older system of producing charcoal because the ovens were a more efficient way to reduce pinyon pine and juniper into charcoal. The Ward Charcoal Ovens operated from 1876 through 1879, the silver boom years of the Ward mines. The ovens were eventually phased out completely due to depleted ore deposits and a shortage of available timber.
The Ward Charcoal Ovens served diverse purposes after their function as charcoal ovens ended. They sheltered stockmen and prospectors during foul weather and had a reputation as a hideout for stagecoach bandits.
Ward Charcoal Ovens Nevada State Monument
The ovens are 30-feet high and 27-feet in diameter at the base. The parabolic, beehive shape reflected heat back into the center of the oven reducing heat loss. The walls are 20-inches thick with three rows of vents. The ovens were made from rock quarried directly southwest of the ovens. The rock is called tertiary volcanic and quartz latite tuff.
Each oven held approximately 35 cords of wood – one cord is 4-feet high by 4-feet wide by 8 feet long – and produced about 1,750 bushels of charcoal.
Wood was cut into 5-foot to 6-foot lengths and stacked inside the ovens vertically using the lower door. The first floor of the oven was filled leaving an open space in the center to serve as a chimney. The wood was then loaded up a ramp and through the upper door, which looks like a window, in the same fashion.
The loaded oven was ignited and the metal door was cemented shut. The vents were used to adjust the air drafts to suffocate the fire just enough to produce charcoal. Burners gauged the charcoaling process by the color of the smoke.
Ward Charcoal Ovens Nevada
The beehive shaped ovens replaced an older system of producing charcoal because the ovens were a more efficient way to reduce pinyon pine and juniper into charcoal. The Ward Charcoal Ovens operated from 1876 through 1879, the silver boom years of the Ward mines. The ovens were eventually phased out completely due to depleted ore deposits and a shortage of available timber.
The Ward Charcoal Ovens served diverse purposes after their function as charcoal ovens ended. They sheltered stockmen and prospectors during foul weather and had a reputation as a hideout for stagecoach bandits.
Ward Charcoal Ovens Nevada State Monument
The ovens are 30-feet high and 27-feet in diameter at the base. The parabolic, beehive shape reflected heat back into the center of the oven reducing heat loss. The walls are 20-inches thick with three rows of vents. The ovens were made from rock quarried directly southwest of the ovens. The rock is called tertiary volcanic and quartz latite tuff.
Each oven held approximately 35 cords of wood – one cord is 4-feet high by 4-feet wide by 8 feet long – and produced about 1,750 bushels of charcoal.
Wood was cut into 5-foot to 6-foot lengths and stacked inside the ovens vertically using the lower door. The first floor of the oven was filled leaving an open space in the center to serve as a chimney. The wood was then loaded up a ramp and through the upper door, which looks like a window, in the same fashion.
The loaded oven was ignited and the metal door was cemented shut. The vents were used to adjust the air drafts to suffocate the fire just enough to produce charcoal. Burners gauged the charcoaling process by the color of the smoke.