Walden's Ridge Civic League

Walden’s Ridge Civic League

While the country was facing the Great Depression, the mountain top population was chiefly comprised of poor farmers, shopkeepers and coal miners living independently. They contributed little tax revenue to Hamilton County and, as a result, received very little police support, no fire control, few roads, only primitive schools, and scarce public services. Epidemics of cholera in 1873 and yellow fever in 1879 brought more affluent people from the valley to summer at Fairmount and Mabbitt Springs. 

These families, recognizing the need for more community services, teamed up with the “mountaineers” to organize the Walden’s Ridge Civic League to improve local services. The League played a crucial role in establishing a sense of community and providing essential services to residents in the absence of local government, with a focus on self-reliance and volunteerism. Still active today, the Civic League’s efforts have been instrumental in shaping the development of Walden’s Ridge, continuing to operate for over 100 years and helping to shape the Town of Walden as we know it today.

Some major milestones of the organization include: • Community Auditorium built in1921. • Lobbied to rebuild the W Road in 1927 and widen it in 1940 • Brought clean water; formed Walden’s Ridge Utility District • Established the first volunteer fire department (WRES) • Assured law & order through policing • Secured electricity lines for the area • Built, marked and maintained the roads • Demanded a modern school which became Bachman