The Ardens

The Ardens are three historic communities in Northern Delaware, about a mile from the Pennsylvania state line. The original village, Arden, was founded in 1900, as a land trust based on Henry George's Single Tax principles, and inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement and the land use policies of the Garden Cities movement.
From these earliest beginnings, it has flourished as a haven for artists and dreamers of all kinds, adding the villages of Ardentown (1922), and Ardencroft (1950). Each generation of residents has contributed to a vibrant artistic and community venue, where the arts are considered a birthright of everyone. Although the villages are independent governments, the community functions as a whole.
Important community organizations include the Arden Club, which has activity gilds ranging from Folk Dance to Swim to the Scholar's Gild, and which sponsors an annual fair, the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, showcasing community talents and fundraising to support the converted barn that houses the club. The Dinner Gild operates a community dinner every Saturday during the winter, and various performance gilds continue the traditions of theatre and music, particularly Gilbert and Sullivan and Shakespeare, that have been with the town since its inception. The Arden Community Recreation Association, or ACRA, sponsors events throughout the year, from a community camp to holiday parties and a house and garden tour.
Famous present and former residents include artists, performers and political activists far too numerous to mention, but Arden has been a home to political activists Mother Bloor, founder of the US Communist party, Upton Sinclair, and Scott Nearing, to artists who have included Edward Loper and Rick Rothrock, as well as to performing artists including dancer Bea Bell, actress Barbara BelGeddes and actor Tony Perkins.
To live in the Ardens only requires finding a place to do so, and, while most of the housing is single-family owner-occupied, there are rental properties. If you purchase a house you purchase the house, only, all land is held in trusts and assessed according to Georgist principles. However, participating in the community does not require residence... membership in the Arden Club is open to all for a nominal membership fee. Other than artist studios and theatres there is little or no commercial development, but as the villages are now surrounded by suburbs, many residents commute to work or school in Wilimington or Philadelphia.

The villages are listed on the National Historic Register for their utopian vision and community organization, but no vision of utopia is achieved without struggle. Well into our second century, we continue to work together to try to solve the issues of justice and economic parity that concerned our founders, striving to balance the expectations of residents both longtime and new-come, without reenacting the power relationships of the larger society. As the surrounding area has changed, the challenges of this have changed as well, but as long as we commit to the process, we can still lay claim to our history.