Ardentown, DE

Ardentown had 255 residents in 2020 and is the middle child of northern Delaware’s three Arden villages. Donald Stephens founded it in 1922 as an outgrowth of Arden, drawing on Henry George’s Single-Tax ideas, William Morris’s Arts and Crafts principles, and a plan for community ownership of land. The village was incorporated in 1975, but its land still operates through a trust: residents lease lots, pay ground rent, and take part in a Town Meeting that handles village affairs.

Most of Ardentown lies north of Harvey Road, east of Arden, and west of the CSX railroad, with Naamans Creek and the Sunnyside Nature Preserve shaping its edges. The former Harvey barn has served as a theater since 1931; it became the Candlelight Music Dinner Theatre in 1969 and remains a local landmark. The preserve includes some of Delaware’s older, larger trees, while the Buzz Ware Village Center hosts coffee houses, art shows, concerts, and children’s programs. Brandywine School District serves the village’s students. Ardentown’s streets feel less like a conventional subdivision than a small experiment that kept its original rules.