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Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Rarden, Ohio

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Rarden Township. It lies in ZIP code area 45671. It stands on Jessie Run. The Survey maps it on the Rarden quadrangle. 146 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 620 feet above sea level.

Rarden within Scioto County

Population over time

2 figures

Rarden fell from 159 to 146 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010159
2020146-13 (-8%)

Then and now

1915 to 1991

The same ground, surveyed 76 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rarden, surveyed 1991
Topographic sheet of Rarden, surveyed 1915

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

6,389 words on this township

A History of Scioto County, Ohio,, published 1903 names this settlement in its chapter on Rarden Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The youngest of all the townships was organized from a portion of Brush Creek, January 10, 1891, and contains 19,688 acres, ranking ninth in area outside of Wayne. Although the last organized, it received its first inhabitants shortly after 1800. Among those who settled on Rarden Creek were John Smith, James and Oliver Jones, Charles Ross, Isaac Gifford, John and Matthew Williams and Enos Mustard. Among those on Mt. Joy were: Willis Bull. Nathaniel Newman, Hugh Brown, Johathan Boyd and James Scott. On Dunlap were: Isaac Newman, Benjamin and Joseph Walker. The first settler to take up land near the town of Rarden, was Jesse Edwards. His brother came at the same time and Christopher Newman settled near the line in Adams County. Others who settled in and about Rarden were: William and Thomas Thompson Thornton Kendall. John McCann, Joshua Armstrong, Paul K. Stewart, Thomas Rarden, Thomas Brown, Aaron Armstrong, James Nelson and Shelton Kendall.

Passage source: A History of Scioto County, Ohio,, published 1903.

Rarden Township is bounded on the north by Pike County, on the east by Morgan and Brush Creek, on the south by Brush Creek, and on the west by Adams County. No changes of any consequence have been made in the boundary since its organization. The assessed value of its personal property in 1900 was $61,798, and it ranked 10th; value of real estate, $80,470; rank 15th; the total valuation of property of all kinds was $142,268, and its rank was 14th.

Passage source: A History of Scioto County, Ohio,, published 1903.

It is watered by Brush Creek which enters from Adams County and crosses the southwest corner, and by its tributaries: Rarden Creek which rises in the northern part of the township and joins Brush Creek west of Rarden; Dunlap, which flows from the southwestern part and joins Brush Creek at Rarden; Dry Run, which courses along just west of the southeastern boundary and joins Brush Creek near Young. Besides these there are numerous other small affluents.

Passage source: A History of Scioto County, Ohio,, published 1903.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Rarden Township - it names this place 23 more 23 times.

Fires near this place

29 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 29 fires within 5 miles of Rarden between 2003 and 2020, burning about 170 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined11
Debris and open burning9
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Arson/incendiarism3
Smoking2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
26 May 2019Debris and open burning5.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources15199
2 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources12625
8 April 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 April 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresOhio Department of Natural ResourcesDRY FORK
24 April 2014Debris and open burning5.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 April 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 April 2014Debris and open burning3.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 April 2020Power generation/transmission/distribution8.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resources15683

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Scioto County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 203 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 203 specimens collected within 10 miles of Rarden between 1893 and 1975: 99 Animalia, 97 Fungi, 6 Plantae, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Braun, E. Lucy, Conan J. Taylor, Cooke, William Bridge and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) RousselAlbugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel1897F.L. StevensAlum Rock
Specimen of Ceriporia spissa (Schwein. ex Fr.) Rajchenb.Ceriporia spissa (Schwein. ex Fr.) Rajchenb.1937Cooke, William BridgeRock Run
Specimen of Coprinellus micaceus (Bull.) Vilgalys, Hopple & Jacq.JohnsonCoprinellus micaceus (Bull.) Vilgalys, Hopple & Jacq.Johnson1937Cooke, William BridgeRock Run
A photograph of the species Myelochroa galbina, not of this specimenMyelochroa galbina (Ach.) Elix & Hale1893Jones, T.H.BOtway
Eratoneura minor (Beamer, 1932)1921McAtee
A photograph of the species Physcia Michx., not of this specimenPhyscia (Schreb.) Michx., 18031927Braun, E. LucyBeech Fork, Laurel Falls
A photograph of the species Campostoma anomalum, not of this specimenCampostoma anomalum anomalum1929MB TrautmanS Fork of Scioto Brush Creek, 1 mi W of Otway, Brush Creek Twp.
A photograph of the species Cyprinella whipplei, not of this specimenCyprinella whipplei Girard, 18561929Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Foster, R. (Robert)Scioto Brush Creek, ust SR 73, 2.4 miles southeast of Otway OH, Union township
Cyprinidae1929Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)South Fork Scioto Brush Creek, no precise locality data, Near Otway OH, Brush Creek Township
A photograph of the species Esox vermiculatus, not of this specimenEsox vermiculatus Lesueur, 18461929Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Foster, R. (Robert)Scioto Brush Creek, 1 mi north of Otway, ~1.2 mi NW of Otway, Brush Creek township
A photograph of the species Etheostoma caeruleum, not of this specimenEtheostoma caeruleum Storer, 18451929Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Foster, R. (Robert)Scioto Brush Creek, 1 mi north of Otway, ~1.2 mi NW of Otway, Brush Creek township
A photograph of the species Etheostoma nigrum, not of this specimenEtheostoma nigrum Rafinesque, 18201929MB TrautmanScioto Brush Creek, 1 mile north of Otway, Brush Creek Twp

All 203 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this place

31 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rarden in 31 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 11 thunderstorm wind, 9 flood, 6 flash flood, 5 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2012Thunderstorm WindRarden$20,000Trees were downed and structural damage, including roof damage, occurred due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
November 2020Thunderstorm WindRarden$15,000Numerous trees were downed throughout the northern portion of the county.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindRarden$10,000Trees were knocked down onto a home along Hazelmaker Road.
May 2010Flash FloodRarden$10,000State Route 73 and highway 772 were closed due to high water. A few families were also evacuated.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindRarden$10,000A fifteen foot shed was blown into a utility pole.
August 1997Thunderstorm WindRarden$10,000Several trees downed, one of which fell on a car.
May 1997Flash FloodRarden$10,000Several streets flooded by over 6 inches of rainfall in only a few hours.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindRarden$5,000Power lines and trees knocked down.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindRarden$3,000A tree was knocked down onto a car on OH-73.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindRarden$3,000Trees were downed.
August 2003HailRarden$3,000no account filed
May 2012Thunderstorm WindRarden$2,000Six trees were reported down on roads in the area due to damaging thunderstorm winds.
May 2010Flash FloodRarden$2,000Multiple roads were flooded due to heavy rainfall.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindRarden$1,000A tree was downed across State Route 73.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindRarden$1,000A few large tree limbs were knocked down.
July 2007HailRarden$1,000no account filed
February 2025FloodRarden-State Route 73 was closed due to high water near Rarden.
February 2025FloodRarden-High water was reported on Hazelbaker Road.
January 2023FloodRarden-Several roads throughout the county remained closed due to high water.
February 2021FloodRarden-State Route 73 was closed in both directions due to flooding.
May 2020FloodRarden-State Route 73 was closed due to high water.
February 2020FloodRarden-High water closed a few roads from Rarden to east of Portsmouth.
February 2020FloodRarden-State Route 73 was closed near Rarden due to high water.
February 2019FloodRarden-State Route 73 was closed due to flooding at Rarden.
February 2019FloodRarden-High water was over State Route 73, near the Adams County line.
July 2003Flash FloodRarden-A few roads were submerged in water upto four feet deep iin some spots.
May 2003Flash FloodRarden-Numerous roads across the northern part of the county were covered with high water. Roads closed included State Route 73 near Rarden, and State Route 139 in Minford.
April 2002Flash FloodRarden-Several roads were closed in and around town due to high water up to three feet in some spots. Several homes were evacuated across the northwestern part of the county, and the Rarden Fire Department was forced to evacuate their building.
April 2016HailRarden-no account filed
June 1998HailRarden-no account filed
August 1997HailRarden-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Scioto County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Youngs2.5 miles13
Mount Joy4.2 miles13
Otway4.8 miles12
Duke5.3 miles13
Sedan6.8 miles12
Henley7.0 miles12
Crabtree7.6 miles12
Arion9.0 miles13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RardenAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2118567The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1061585. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.