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A Walk Through the Village of Arden
Photos and text by Peter Wadham
On the day of the annual Kennebec Krafters' bazaar and show, the author decided to take a stroll around the streets of Arden, armed with his digital camera. The walk started at the
Community Centre 
which was built as a school building but which in 1971 was closed and handed over to the community. Opposite the Centre is
John Street; 
on the left can be seen a small building where the Masonic Hall once stood.. Beyond that is a gap where once stood Jack
Pringle's hardware store, which also accommodated a gas station. Past the gap is the Hughes Store, the only grocery store left in Arden. This
was originally started by a Willard Thornton and was then taken over a Mr. Hughes. At one time there were 7 stores, a Bank and 3 hotels. Further down the road one comes to the
United Church,
which was built after the original stone church, which stood on a hill behind the site of the present building, was destroyed by fire in 1952. Carrying on down John Street, opposite the church is the remains of the
Bakery, which once served the whole area with freshly baked bread.
The owners, Fred and Fay Hughe, opened it around 1920 and operated it until about 1957, living in the large house next door. Fay Hughe lived there until June, 1999, when she died at age 93. Their granddaughter still lives in the old house.
Opposite the Hughes Store is Main Street, also once known as Arden Street, on the corner of which stands a house belonging to
Sara Hale,
on the site of the old Hughes Hotel, once operated by Amos Hughes, the father of Tom Hughes, a current member of the community. The house which once stood next door to the Hotel was once occupied by Jack Pringle. All the original houses on this side of the hill were destroyed by a huge fire in 1914. Walking down Main Street, over the hill one comes to Sara
Hale's batik boutique, located in the house which once belonged to the Barkers, who for some time ran a funeral parlour in a downstairs room. Behind was once a grist mill and an electricity generation plant which supplied power to all of Arden. One crosses the old mill stream and comes to the old stone
Anglican Church 
which has been unused since about
1993. It has since been sold to a couple who have ideas of using it as a
boutique.
Beyond the church, the end of Main Street joins the Arden road, leading from highway 7. On the south corner is the
Wormworth house, built by the grandparents of Nora Tryon who still lives on John Street, near the church. This stands at the end of the Arden Road, leading from Highway 7. Next door, to the right, is the Northland Sport store which at one time was
Teeple's garage and gas station. It was the site of a tragic accident when Harry Teeple was pierced in the groin by a piece of chrome protruding from a wrecked car being towed into the garage. He bled to death on the spot. The
small house on the north corner is included because it is a prime example of what can be done to restore a property. In the fall of 1998 the current owner bought a run-down house which seemed beyond repair. In less than a year he has transformed it into this nice home which is an asset to the community.
On the other side of the Arden Road is the Mill
Pond which in the summer is a popular swimming area. The mills were fed from a dam which is above the pond. South of the pond is
Carl Young's elegant house, originally built by his father. Mr. Young once built the dam which resulted in the present pond. Opposite the Young house is a
new bungalow 
built with the help of the community after the young
owners' previous home burned down. This was once the site of a large sawmill yard until the demand for work dropped off to zero.
Walking on down the road and over a hill brings one back to the Community
Centre.
