Arden, DE

At 160 acres, Arden is a New Castle County village founded in 1900 by sculptor Frank Stephens and architect Will Price as a Georgist single-tax and Arts and Crafts experiment. Half the land remains woods and greens, and the village’s houses sit on leaseholds held through a trust; residents own their homes while land rent supports village, county, and school expenses. That arrangement is still visible in Arden’s town-meeting government, communal land, and place beside the related villages of Ardentown and Ardencroft. The village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

ATTRFamartin / CC BY-SA 4.0

Arden’s present-day life grows from the arts that gave the experiment its original shape. The Arden Club, Arden Craft Shop Museum, outdoor theater, music, and the annual Arden Fair keep the village active alongside its historic designation. Brandywine School District serves the schools, while the greens and forests remain part of the shared landscape. In Arden, a town meeting, a green, and an outdoor theater are parts of the same historic address.