Arthurdale (W. Va.)

Arthurdale is an unincorporated community in Preston County, West Virginia, United States. It was built in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression as a social experiment to provide opportunities for unemployed local miners and farmers. Arthurdale was undertaken by the short-lived Subsistence Homesteads Division and with the personal involvement of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who used her influence to win government approval for the scheme. As of the 2020 census, Arthurdale had a population of 1,143. The aim was to encourage self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on both market forces and welfare provision. The experiment failed through a clash of ideologies, between a strong emphasis on accommodating those most in need yet also having qualifications to ensure that the community would be self-governed in a professional manner. The entrepreneurial community spirit never took hold, and the project is generally remembered as a classic failure, though some of its original residents continued to defend its principles. Arthurdale is now classed as a historic district, with over 100 of the original buildings still standing in addition to a New Deal museum.