Welcome to Historic Ardentown
Date Posted: Saturday, August 5th, 2017Founded in 1922, Ardentown is located in northern New Castle County, Delaware. It is one of the three single-tax villages – Arden, Ardentown, and Ardencroft – that together are commonly known as The Ardens. With approximately 120 leaseholds and 250 residents, Ardentown is the second oldest of The Ardens. It is also part of the Ardens Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2003.
The three communities share much in common, yet each has its own municipal government and its own trustees.
Ardentown has a town-meeting form of government. The village’s municipal income comes from state street fund appropriations, grants, cable fees, and an appropriation from the trustees.
The communal land in the village is the legal responsibility of, and administered by, three trustees. That includes the land leased to leaseholders for 99 years, the woods, and the greens. The roads and a large tract known as the Sunnyside Nature Reserve are the responsibility of the village’s municipal government.
Trustees set the land rent in Ardentown based on the square footage of each leasehold, and use it to pay New Castle County property and Brandywine District school taxes, as well as maintain communal lands.