Oden a is small rural community in Montgomery County on the north bank of the Ouachita River. It is around 10 miles from Mount Ida.
A group left Tippah County, Mississippi, in ox-drawn wagons and arrived in the town 1849. Others soon arrived and soon a community was born. Many of the early families’ descendants still live around town.
In the early twentieth century, Oden was a thriving town with staples such as a bank, grocery stores, and hotel. A predominantly agricultural community, Oden was incorporated in 1929.
However, a 1931 fire that destroyed seven buildings and the Depression hit the town hard.
In the past, cotton was an important cash crop. The Ouachita National Forest covers sixty-three percent of the county. Nearby is the Big Brushy Recreational Area with hiking trails, which are part of the Ouachita Trail system. Each spring, the Ouachita Challenge, a sixty-mile mountain bike race, starts in town.
Montgomery County is known for its quartz crystals and the Ouachita Mountains. The area is a popular region to enjoy hiking, fishing, and water activities on Lake Ouachita, Arkansas’s largest lake, and the Caddo, Ouachita, and Little Missouri Rivers.