This film negative was taken by David DeHarport (1921-2001) in 1968 in Ward, Colorado. The photograph shows the Union Congregational Church as viewed from the hill behind. Ward, a small town in Boulder County, was founded as a mining town. The Union Congregational Church was built in 1894 and is the oldest building in the town. Harsh winters left the town mostly vacant from fall to spring during the 1940s-1960s. However, around the time DeHarport was in Ward, it was slowly gaining more year round residents.
David DeHarport was a photographer, archaeologist, and anthropologist. Between 1937-2000, DeHarport photographed the southwestern United States, specifically focusing on Colorado and the Four Corners region. Much of his work focused on abandoned agricultural and mining towns in Colorado, as well as landscapes of the state's eastern plains. This photograph is part of the David DeHarport collection (Ph.00510).