Peden

Peden was on the western shore of Eagle Mountain Lake, south of Swift Branch, two miles north of Azle, and twenty miles northwest of Fort Worth in northwestern Tarrant County. Before Eagle Mountain Lake was constructed, Peden was on the West Fork of the Trinity River. It was established around a church and school and named for the Peden family which owned land and businesses in the area. From 1901 to 1907 Peden had a post office. Liberty School, an L-shaped brick building, was build in 1917–18 and served grades one through five. At one time the community had three churches, a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, a garage, and a store, all operated by the Peden family. By the 1930s the population was thirty-three, and one business was located in the community. Construction began on Eagle Mountain Lake in 1930; it continued to 1932 and had a devastating effect on Peden. Roads running east and west between Peden and other small communities were cut off by the lake. Landowners sold their property to construct the lake, and Liberty School lost over half its students and revenue and was forced to consolidate with the Azle Independent School District by the 1940s. By the 1970s and 1980s the population had only risen to forty, and no businesses operated in the community. In 1990 Peden had a grocery-gas supply area for lakeside visitors.