The story
Read it all →How Ward came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ward.
Spann Methodist Church and Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Ward
Ward was first counted by the census in 1890, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listing is the Spann Methodist Church and Cemetery. Below: maps from 1964 on and the census since 1890.
1890first census
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Ward began
When was Ward founded?
1890
Ward first appears in the census in 1890.
First census: 161 in 18902020 census: 119136 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
What stands out about Ward’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Ward’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ward’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Ward, census by census
Peaked at 234 in 1920; 119 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ward’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
Ward, 1892 to 1964
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1892Post officeThe Ward post office opens
- 20th century
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 234
- 1964
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your albumOn the map
Ward on the map, 1964 to 1982
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ward. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Ridge Spring sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ward.
On the National Register
1 historic place in Ward
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2003
Spann Methodist Church and Cemetery
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Mid-19th Century1
Late Victorian1
Greek Revival1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Ward
Nobody well known was born in Ward itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Ward’s history
What year was Ward founded?
The Ward post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What is on the National Register in Ward?
One place: the Spann Methodist Church and Cemetery (listed 2003).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.