Arden is a small unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 located along the Tygart Valley River

Tygart Valley River

The Tygart Valley River — also known as the Tygart River — is a principal tributary of the Monongahela River, approximately long, in east-central West Virginia, USA...

 in Barbour County

Barbour County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there are 15,557 people, 6,123 households, and 4,365 families residing in the county. The population density is 46 people per square mile . There are 7,348 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

 in the north central portion of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

.

Arden was named in 1775 by the Quaker Jacob Moon after the district of Arden in Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Previously built up along a stretch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 tracks, the community is situated between two landmark rock formations: Hell's Gate and Devil's Den. Many whitewater enthusiasts shoot the shallow rapids of the river through this pristine section of the valley. The area is home to a notable number of native wildflowers and is locally notorious for its occasional drownings.

Arden is one of two communities so named in the state (see Arden, Berkeley County, West Virginia

Arden, Berkeley County, West Virginia

Arden is an unincorporated hamlet located between Martinsburg and Inwood in Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the United States. Arden is the location of a number of historic sites including the Arden United Methodist Church, Trinity Church, and Ar-Qua Springs, which is listed on the National...

).

Notable residents

• Ida Lilliard Reed
  Ida Lilliard Reed
  Ida Lilliard Reed was an American religious writer and music composer from Barbour County, West Virginia. She composed cantatas, poems, and hymns, totaling over 2,000 works....
  
  (1865-1951), hymnwriter