Arden is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located along the

Tygart Valley River The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed A ...

in Barbour County in the north central portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. The Arden settlement was built up along a stretch of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

tracks; a narrow-gauge railroad was first laid through this area in the early 1880s. It had its own post office at one time. The community is known today to whitewater enthusiasts as being situated between two landmark rock formations: Hell's Gate and Devil's Den. Many such recreationalists shoot the shallow rapids of the river through this pristine section of the Valley with its numerous large boulders and small falls. The area is home to a notable number of native wildflowers and is locally notorious for its occasional drownings. The community contains the famous Party Rock known for its flat formation for people to have parties on, and also known to take many people’s lives from falling off the rock.

Notable person

* Ida Lilliard Reed (1865–1951), noted hymnwriter, lived nearby.

References

Unincorporated communities in Barbour County, West Virginia Unincorporated communities in West Virginia Populated places on the Tygart Valley River {{BarbourCountyWV-geo-stub