America’s first New Deal settlement offers community and craftsmanship.
written by christy perry tuohey
The 2025 New Deal Festival takes place 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Saturday, July 12.
A sunny-day drive through Arthurdale, the U.S. government’s first residential area created to provide poor Americans with home ownership and agricultural independence, reveals a rich tapestry. Goats graze in grassy pens. Stone cottages line the landscape. You might even hear children plucking the strings of traditional instruments. All of them inhabit this open-spaces museum.
Arthurdale Heritage, which manages the nation’s original New Deal community, located just a half-hour outside Morgantown, has a new executive director and a new vision. Kenneth Kidd—“Everyone calls me Kenny”—came to the position after years of working with global Eastern Orthodox Christian ministries. But this isn’t actually his first Arthurdale go-round. As a WVU student, Kidd was the historic campus’ caretaker and lived in its first restored home.
“They put out an ad looking for a graduate student willing to live in the house, offer tours, take care of livestock, mow the grass, and live for free,” he recalls. “I was a social work major, so I kind of understood some of the underlying philosophies of Arthurdale and why it existed—but I’m also just a history geek and nerd, and I loved it.”
His first major project as executive director is a partnership with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia to restore the old Arthurdale high school building, which stands behind West Preston Elementary School. Phase One has workers securing and updating the old school for use as a sort of heritage trade school, where building contractors can eventually learn and gain certification in historic structure preservation.
But that’s not the only plan on the drawing table for that building. Arthurdale could potentially partner with existing Appalachian trade schools. “We might be an extension of some of those trade and technical schools where they would have an outreach program, but utilizing our facilities,” Kidd says. Arthurdale Heritage landed a federal grant to cover the initial phases of the school project, and asbestos and lead removal have already begun.
Until the facility is ready, though, there is plenty going on in Arthurdale’s existing buildings, including woodworking, weaving, and stained glass–making classes. Metalsmithing workshops began in the community forge this past spring.
Come summer, Arthurdale’s biggest annual event will return. The New Deal Festival, which Kidd compares to a county fair full of traditional folk arts, offers artisan demonstrations, displays, and products for sale. Appalachian fiddlers will compete on the concert stage, and some may include string musicians who take banjo, fiddle, and guitar lessons at Arthurdale. Mark your calendar—this year’s festival will be on Saturday, July 12.
“Arthurdale was an amazing example of what it would be to live in a community where everyone was serving each other,” Kidd says. “We share that story to inspire communities of today.”
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM OUR SUMMER 2025 ISSUE
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