The Arden Craft Shop Museum honors the life of long time Arden resident and museum friend, Connee McKinney, with a spot light exhibit, opening Sunday, March 19th.  

Connee long supported the museum through the gift of many different artifacts, including her design for the first t-shirt for the Arden Fair, as well as being an always friendly resource for the life of the community.

Our thoughts are with the family in this time.  Find the full obituary here.

The ACSM is very pleased to announce the return of our popular program Afternoon with the Artist on Sunday, March 26th.  We are delighted that Janet Williams will be the first artist in this new series of programs.  Janet grew up in the Ardens and has returned to live in the community.  She has studied at PAFA and holds degrees from both the University of Delaware and Philadelphia University. After working in many different media, Janet has returned to painting and has found inspiration in working outdoors.
 
Janet has said, “As a plein air painter my enjoyment comes from sorting out a cluster of trees, flowers or plants as they capture the light.”  We are excited to see what Janet will show and exhibit at the Museum.  The show will be open during our regular hours from 1-3 PM, Sunday, March 26th.

To see a sample of Janet's work please visit her website.

Janet is a member of the Arden Artisans Collective.

​See the Facebook event here.
 
The Past Has a Future in the Ardens.
 
Arden Craft Shop Museum, Open: Wednesdays 7:30 – 9 PM and Sundays from 1-3 PM.

​The exhibition celebrating the Ardentown Centennial is now open.  We are delighted to announce that that some new objects have been added to both the exhibition and the main display space at the Museum.  A wonderful handcrafted sign which once invited guests to that famous, or infamous, spot on the ground level of the Candlelight Theater is now on display.  We have also been able to rehang two stained glass windows originally in the Monastery.  In addition, a striking hand-carved sign celebrating the Museum is now also on display.  Be sure to stop in to see these great additions to the gallery.
 

 1. The original Purchase of the Harvey and Hanby farms – the 107 acres which became Ardentown, was made by a group called the Committee of Eight.  All were residents of Arden and were led by Frank Stephens.  The purchase was made in June of 1922 then announced at a Town Meeting of Arden.  The purchase was made without any prior approval from Arden, so naturally a committee was created to study the matter.  The committee reported at the next Town Meeting that $2500 of the town surplus could be used to offset the taxes and other fees.  The Town Meeting voted not to spend the money as the additional land would increase property values and therefore increase lands rents. At a town meeting in November 1922, the residents “opposed” using the name Arden in the naming of the new village.

2. Finally in November 1923, the Village of Arden agreed to extend Millers Road 150 feet so that it would connect with Ardentown. Now we know why the intersection of Millers Road, Walnut, and Lower Lanes has such an odd connection.  

3. Fiske Warren, a Boston manufacturer and energetic Georgist, provided the funds for the Ardentown land purchase.  In return for his investment, he received the leases to a number of the properties.  We have a letter from May 1929 which identifies him a holding 45 of the approximately 120 available leaseholds.  

4. In the very early days, the leaseholds were not taken quickly enough to provide the funds for the Trustees to repay Warren for his investment.  It was reported that Warren took the remaining 30 leaseholds and paid the funds to the Village, so the Village could pay him.  

5. To complete this unusual business arrangement. Warren hire Elizabeth Ritter to build houses on the leaseholds.  And if we believe the reports, Warren provided the money to Ritter for the construction. New residents leased the land from the Trustees and paid Warren for the mortgage on their house. There is an advertisement in March 1930 for New Homes in Ardentown, built by E. B. Ritter.  They sound very nice with 6 rooms, bath, heat, electric range, and a garage – and they are only 600 feet from the Arden Station.  

6. In 1926, the Trustees of Ardentown saw to the planting of 217 dogwood trees in the village.  They also order another 200 maple, linden, and elm trees.  At the time there were about 50 houses in town  
 
7. The roads in Ardentown were, of course, originally all dirt and cinders and quite muddy.  In the early 1930s the Village rented a stone crusher, hauled rocks from the Naamans Creek, and laid down a foundation for the road.  They paving was done by the WPA in 1935.  When the “women of the village” found out that many of the workers had walked from Wilmington without breakfast, they made sure to provide coffee for them.  
 
8. The Blue Boar Inn occupied the ground floor of the old Harvey barn and the Inn and the Village had a difficult relationship over the years.  As could be expected there were complaints about the behavior of the Inn’s customers, the loudness of the music, and the late-night opening hours.  At one point, Ardentown became the only town in the state to set stricter opening hours, specifically for the Blue Boar, than those established by the ABC.  The owner of the Blue Boar naturally defended the patrons and pointed out that in order to have a profitable business, the Inn needed to be open to welcome customers.  During the 1970’s and beyond, the battle went on for some years in and out of court.  The only piece of memorabilia we can find at the Museum, besides some newspaper articles, is an empty match book cover from the Blue Boar Inn.  That seems a very quiet reminder.

9. In 1998, the Delaware Department of Transportation sold 30 acres of land between I 95 and the railroad tracks to the Village of Ardentown for $1.  This property was combined with six acres already under the control of the Trustees and it became known at the Sunnyside Nature Preserve – an excellent use for “unusable public land.”  

10. The earliest Ardentown land rent chart we have found is from 1924 – it was in the Ardentown Leasehold Book given to the ACSM by the Trustees.  The rents charged were adjusted by factors such as corner locations, proximity to parkland, and access over a finished highway. At that time the base land rent per 1000 square feet was $ 1.65.  

We are excited to announce the Grand Re-Opening of the Arden Craft Shop Museum!  Please join us, October 16th from 1-3 pm as we reopen our main gallery space with a new exhibition: Ardentown Celebrates One Hundred!  We are so excited to share our renovated gallery with our friends and guests!  Please join us for light refreshments and self-guided tours of the gallery.  If you are not able to join us on the 16th, we are returning to normal open house, Wednesday 7:30 pm to 9 pm and Sundays 1 pm to 3 pm.   You are welcome hither!

After being partially open for an extended period the museum is closed to complete repairs to the gallery space and install our new exhibition.  Look for our Grand Reopening in later October 2022 with our new exhibition celebrating the Ardentown Centennial!
During this period of closure, please enjoy the pop up art museum on the fence outside the gallery.  The artwork was created by young artists of the Ardens during the ACRA summer camp!  These wonderful works will be on display until September 4th!
In the Ardens one can find different types of public art from the Mural on the Buzz Ware Village Center to open green spaces that were carefully planned by each of the villages founders.

​The Village of Ardentown is getting ready to celebrate its Centennial and the ACSM is working on an exhibition to mark the occasion.  Several years ago, the Trustees of Ardentown loaned the Museum the book of original Ardentown leasehold records.  The book was part of the exhibition Finding A Homes in the Ardens. The plan was to have the records digitized, so that the information would be available and the book, which is in poor condition, could be preserved in its original state. We are happy that our curator, Abby Harting, found a former colleague who was willing to take on this special project.
As the project has developed a number of interesting facts have been found. The book contains over 330 pages, most of which are actual leases or copies.  Fortunately, the leases themselves were prepared on high quality paper, as they were glued to the cheap, newsprint type paper in the book. Included in the book is a three-page document titled “Assessment of Land Rents for 1924,” which is probably the oldest record of its kind for Ardentown. The earliest date is May 19, 1923 – 23 leases issued on that day.  The last lease in the book was issued September 16, 1940, which was for Leasehold 263. 
The leases have all been signed by the various trustees through the years, but two other names appear regularly.  One is Elizabeth B. Ritter whose name was found on 26 pages. It would be interesting to learn more about her and her connections with the village.  Not surprisingly, the other most commonly found name was Fiske Warren.  

​Warren was a single-taxer from Boston who was part of the financing of the purchase of the Hanby and Harvey farms when Ardentown was founded in 1922.  Warren accepted a number of leaseholds as part of the financial arrangements.  His name appears on 79 pages in the book. Warren would rent these and eventually many of those renter/residents acquired the leaseholds for themselves.
We look forward to celebrating the Ardentown Centennial and learning more from this valuable record of the early days of the village.
In preparation for the opening of our Ardentown Centennial Celebration Exhibition the museum will be temporarily closing on August 1st.  so your last chance to see “Images from the Ardens: 1900-1960” will be Sunday July 31st from 1-3 pm.
​

RESCUE THE RED HOUSE!
Over the past few months many friends of the Museum have asked, “What’s happening at the Museum” and “When will it reopen?”  During the renovation of the building we discovered a number of structural issues in the gallery space of the Museum.  The Gallery, after all, is the original Red House, a converted out-building that was on the property when Frank Stephens purchased the Derrickson farm in 1900.  Our building is showing its age – all 120+ years. 
 
After major termite damage was discovered and repaired, we found additional problems under the floor of the Red House (which is the front structure that is a single story on the Museum).  A structural engineer was brought in to examine the building. Based on the engineer’s report, new plans have been drawn. The amount of work that will need to be done is extensive, involving the flooring, the ceiling, and the roof. 
 
The plans are now in the hands of New Castle County for their review and the permit process.  Our contractor is ready and we are looking forward to beginning this next step.  The work is significant and the cost will substantial. 
​
We have opened a GoFundMe Page to bring this 19th century building into the 21st century- it will be quite a journey. 

Your contributions will help make it possible for the Museum to continue to collect, preserve, and exhibit the history of the Ardens in a building that is safe and secure.  We are also exploring other financial sources and fund-raising plans, which we will be announcing in the coming months.  Meanwhile, this GoFundMe effort will kick-start the process.  We thank you in advance for your support.   
 
Please come and see our current exhibition Images from the Ardens 1900-1960.  The show is in the Bernie Schwab Community Room – just follow the signs along Cherry Lane to the “back” door.  Our museum hours are the same: Sunday afternoons from 1 PM to 3 PM and Wednesday evenings from 7:30 PM to 9 PM. We will also be open from 1PM-4 PM for the ACRA Spring House & Garden Tour on Sunday, May 22nd.
The Past has a Future in the Ardens.
​

The Village of Arden was recently featured on WHYY’s Mover’s and Makers program.  A number of museum volunteers were featured and we extend our thanks to them for representing the museum and Arden so wonderfully!  You can view the episode here.
 
The Ardens have also been shown on other public programs.  These include:

• WHYY First Experience for Love of Chocolate features Mhairi and Stuart Craig Double Spiral Chocolate, from November 16th, 2017.
• WHYY’s Art of Life featuring Russ McKinney, October 1st, 2015, in the last 3rd of the show.
• WHYY’s Friday Arts from July 13th, 2016 this episode features Russ McKinney, Warren Rosenkranz, and Rick Rothrock
• WHYY First Experience from March 1st 2018, features local artist Susan Benarcik, who showed her Arden Woods inspired artwork at the Buzz Ware Village Center
• WHYY’s First Experience featuring the Oddporium on May 18th, 2018 
• WHYY Friday Arts featured Phil Fisher on July 13th 2017, 

If you know of any others please let us know!
 

If you read the minutes of Town Assembly meetings of the Village of Arden in the mid-1980s, you will find regular reports from an Ad Hoc committee – the Archives Committee.  Finally in September, 1989, this self-motivated and determined group became an official standing committee of the Village. There had long been an interest in the history of our village and the 75th anniversary in 1975 and the 80th celebration in 1980 helped crystalize that interest into action.  And Sally Hamburger was always in the forefront of the effort.
There is much to remember about Sally and her interest in the community of Arden and its unique history. She was instrumental in leading the effort to preserve our history for all of us to enjoy and to share with future generations.  Sally was part of that very special group of women we have come to call the Founding Mothers of the Arden Craft Shop Museum.
Those of you who knew Sally remember that she would be the best person to tell the story.  And the best way to tell what Sally did for the archives is to quote her own words.  We are fortunate to have a copy of the remarks she gave at the opening of the Museum in October, 2004.
Sally told the audience, “What an exciting moment this is for the Ardens, for all of us, and especially me. The dream began 15 years ago with the official formation of the Arden Archives Committee in 1989. In the beginning it wasn’t so much a dream as a panic. Oh, some of us had been conscious of the need to preserve the story of Arden, the 1980 celebration committee had gotten a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum and created the first edition of the Arden Oral History; but it was the death of Virginia Shaw - Arden’s professional historian and archivist- that brought on the panic attack. Virginia could answer any question about who did or said what when in town; we counted on her official memory.
When Virginia died, 5 of us looked around and realized it was time to get serious about Arden’s history. So, the first committee was formed - Jean Brachman, Joan Colgan, Pat Liberman, Ethel Montfort and I began gathering art, sculpture, iron work, and files from attics and basements around town. For several years, the bust of Frank Stephens lived in my living room- my children draped him in tinsel for Christmas and gave him a mask for Halloween. 

​All of us on the Archives committee appreciate Sally’s dedication and value her hard work. What was once an idea, became a vison, and is now a reality. We have a museum which exhibits the early history of the Ardens, houses a huge photographic collection, hires professional curators, gives group tours, works with researchers, and enjoys a growing group of active and willing volunteers. Sally – all we can say is thank you so very much.
 
 
ACSM
Museum & Archives Committee
April 2022