In 1859, Marcus Oppenheimer built a grist mill on the river, the second one to operate in the Colville Valley. He later added a saw mill. In 1890, when the Spokane Falls & Northern Railway was built through Arden, the town became a lumber-shipping point of some importance. It was named by an early settler, Jack Mooney, but the name’s origin has not been established.
Arden
Points of Interest 
Yantis Flour Site / Yantis Oppenheimer Flour Site
Today nothing remains of the original mill – only the site. The mill was built by B. Y. Yantis, known as Judge Yantis who came to Eastern Washington in 1855 and became the first postmaster in the vast county. It was powered by water from a dam in the Little Pend Oreille River where it drops down into the Colville Valley. When the mill ceased operation (date unknown) the millstones were removed and made into the form of a monument at the Colville County Courthouse. Another dam was constructed at the site in 1970 at the same location as the Old Arden Flour Mill Dam.
Points of Interest
Yantis Flour Site / Yantis Oppenheimer Flour Site
Today nothing remains of the original mill – only the site. The mill was built by B. Y. Yantis, known as Judge Yantis who came to Eastern Washington in 1855 and became the first postmaster in the vast county. It was powered by water from a dam in the Little Pend Oreille River where it drops down into the Colville Valley. When the mill ceased operation (date unknown) the millstones were removed and made into the form of a monument at the Colville County Courthouse. Another dam was constructed at the site in 1970 at the same location as the Old Arden Flour Mill Dam.
